Views about government aid to the poor among who say common sense is their primary source of guidance on what's right and wrong by state (2014) Switch to: State among who say common sense is their primary source of guidance on what's right and wrong by views about government aid to the poor

% of who say common sense is their primary source of guidance on what's right and wrong who say government aid to the poor…

StateDoes more harm than goodDoes more good than harmNeither/both equallyDon't knowSample size
Alabama49%42%6%2%180
Alaska46%50%2%2%146
Arizona45%46%4%5%286
Arkansas47%49%3%1%114
California39%54%4%2%1,596
Colorado41%52%5%2%209
Connecticut47%49%3%2%197
Delaware41%50%6%2%141
District of Columbia25%71%1%3%118
Florida48%47%3%2%933
Georgia47%46%4%3%360
Hawaii43%48%8%2%158
Idaho47%45%6%2%150
Illinois43%53%3%1%596
Indiana60%36%3%1%282
Iowa49%48%3%< 1%148
Kansas44%50%4%2%139
Kentucky53%36%8%3%175
Louisiana44%47%5%4%172
Maine47%47%3%4%167
Maryland42%54%3%1%282
Massachusetts39%56%3%2%366
Michigan44%51%4%1%447
Minnesota46%50%3%1%261
Missouri48%50%2%< 1%267
Montana55%43%1%< 1%138
Nebraska55%44%1%< 1%134
Nevada44%52%3%1%162
New Hampshire44%52%3%1%168
New Jersey41%55%3%1%421
New Mexico40%57%< 1%3%115
New York42%52%5%1%935
North Carolina47%49%3%2%391
North Dakota58%34%4%3%160
Ohio47%48%3%1%527
Oklahoma47%47%4%3%163
Oregon45%51%3%1%185
Pennsylvania50%46%3%1%590
Rhode Island35%57%1%7%156
South Carolina37%58%2%4%177
South Dakota52%45%3%< 1%140
Tennessee46%49%4%2%231
Texas46%46%5%3%953
Utah46%53%1%< 1%119
Vermont34%62%1%3%162
Virginia52%42%3%3%350
Washington39%56%3%2%308
West Virginia45%48%7%1%125
Wisconsin51%46%1%2%267
Wyoming62%32%5%1%125
Sample sizes and margins of error vary from subgroup to subgroup, from year to year and from state to state. You can see the sample size for the estimates in this chart on rollover or in the last column of the table. And visit this table to see approximate margins of error for a group of a given size. Readers should always bear in mind the approximate margin of error for the group they are examining when making comparisons with other groups or assessing the significance of trends over time. For full question wording, see the survey questionnaire.

Learn More: Does more harm than good, Does more good than harm