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Too Restrictive?

Posted by Matt Birchler
— 1 min read

A class war over social distancing? New data suggests otherwise. - The Washington Post

The new Post poll probes public attitudes toward restrictions and the coronavirus. I got a detailed breakdown of the numbers from the Post polling team, and here are some basic findings:
1. By 78 percent to 22 percent, Americans believe it is “necessary” for people in their communities to stay at home as much as possible.
The spread is very similar among those of incomes below $50,000 (82-18), those of incomes of $50,000 to $100,000 (77-23), and those of incomes over $100,000 (71-29).

And:

2. Fifty-eight percent of Americans overall say current restrictions on businesses are “appropriate,” vs. only 21 percent who say they are “too restrictive.”
Here again, the spread is very similar among those of incomes below $50,000 (56-18), those of incomes of $50,000 to $100,00 (61-22), and those of incomes over $100,000 (60-25).
And again, it’s much the same among rural voters (64-20) and non-college whites (54-28).

XKCD also had a comic where they compared Americans’ feelings towards current restrictions and compared them to “universally” popular things like apple pie, kittens, and Tom Hanks. AKA, you can find more people who say they dislike Tom Hanks than who want schools to reopen now.

Disclaimer: obviously public opinion doesn’t make something objectively right or wrong, but I thought this was interesting data on what the country feels like right now.