1. This is a really terrific post on the perils of popularism applied to social policy. Using poll numbers that are very closely clustered together & which vary wildly depending on precision of wording isn't, it turns out, a good way to make policy. https://twitter.com/MattBruenig/status/1447185606082273280 …
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2. Earlier Bruenig piece is also great. One takeaway is that even when means testing polls well, in the real world it creates administrative burdens & annoyances which make government policies in general much less popular (also harder for poor to access)https://www.peoplespolicyproject.org/2021/09/28/a-sharper-ctc-means-test-would-make-the-program-way-less-popular/ …
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3. One point I'd add to Bruenig's arguments is that the popularity of policy is sensitive to partisan cues. We saw that with impeachment in early 2020. Polled middling with Dems until Pelosi came out for it & then had majority support. In partisan environment, cues matter.
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4. People are often unsure of the details of policy & look to leaders for guidance. Partisan cues matter! So if you have prominent Dems talking about need for means testing or deficit reduction, that drives up those numbers.
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