WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- While Republicans with low incomes distrust the U.S. government, they also say it should do more for poor people, the Pew Research Center says.
The needs of the poor became an issue this week when Mitt Romney, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, told CNN he is not concerned about the very poor or very rich. He said the poor have a safety net while the rich have the wherewithal to take care of themselves.
In a survey conducted Sept. 22 to Oct. 4, Pew found that 25 percent of voters who describe themselves as Republican or Republican-leaning have annual incomes of less than $30,000. More than half of that group, 57 percent, said the federal government does not do enough for poor people while 18 percent said it does too much.
Among Republicans with incomes of more than $75,000, 44 percent said the government does too much for the poor and 21 percent said too little.
Poor Republicans are also more likely to see the economic system as favoring the wealthy and are more likely to say the financial system harms the country and corporations have too much power.
Nearly three-quarters of Democrats (72 percent) say the government does not do enough for the poor. Pew did not specify the number of people surveyed or the margin of error.
