SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A flyer protesting the response to the coronavirus posted in the French Quarter on March 15, 2020 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo: Chris Graythen/Getty Images)
New Polling Shows Widespread US Public Support for Paid Sick Leave, Medicare for All to Fight Coronavirus
"Humane policies are popular policies."
Mar 16, 2020
Strong majorities of U.S. voters across the political spectrum support an array of progressive policy proposals that would provide immediate relief to those affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including two weeks of paid sick leave, free vaccinations, and free comprehensive healthcare for all.
That's according to new survey results released Monday by progressive polling outfit Data for Progress and advocacy group The Justice Collaborative. The groups described their package of proposals as an alternative to the "neoliberal, go-it-alone policies adopted by both major parties over the last 40 years."
"To be clear--two weeks is not long enough given the likely duration of this crisis. The CDC has recommended cancelling events with fifty or more people for the next eight weeks."
--Data for Progress, The Justice Collaborative
The poll showed that U.S. voters favor far more expansive coronavirus relief than what's contained in the bill passed Saturday by the Democrat-controlled House. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides two weeks of paid sick leave for just 20% of workers and limits family leave pay to two-thirds of the employee's regular rate. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote on the measure as early as Monday.
Data for Progress and The Justice Collaborative found that 66% of voters--including 56% of Republicans--support providing two weeks of paid sick leave for all U.S. workers in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and 68% support guaranteeing two weeks of paid family leave for workers whose children are diagnosed with coronavirus.
"To be clear--two weeks is not long enough given the likely duration of this crisis," the groups wrote in a memo (pdf) on their findings. "The CDC has recommended cancelling events with fifty or more people for the next eight weeks."
The survey also found that 76% support free testing, 75% believe any coronavirus vaccine must be free for all, and 53%--including 74% of Democrats--favor guaranteeing "every American healthcare without any out-of-pocket costs for monthly premiums, co-pays, or deductibles."
"These results show that voters support more aggressive intervention than what the federal relief legislation provides," the memo reads. "That bill does include free coronavirus testing, but it does not guarantee no-cost vaccines or access to broader comprehensive care--essential components of successfully treating the disease and slowing its spread."
In response to the findings, progressive organizer and New York congressional candidate Adem Bunkeddeko tweeted, "Humane policies are popular policies."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Strong majorities of U.S. voters across the political spectrum support an array of progressive policy proposals that would provide immediate relief to those affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including two weeks of paid sick leave, free vaccinations, and free comprehensive healthcare for all.
That's according to new survey results released Monday by progressive polling outfit Data for Progress and advocacy group The Justice Collaborative. The groups described their package of proposals as an alternative to the "neoliberal, go-it-alone policies adopted by both major parties over the last 40 years."
"To be clear--two weeks is not long enough given the likely duration of this crisis. The CDC has recommended cancelling events with fifty or more people for the next eight weeks."
--Data for Progress, The Justice Collaborative
The poll showed that U.S. voters favor far more expansive coronavirus relief than what's contained in the bill passed Saturday by the Democrat-controlled House. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides two weeks of paid sick leave for just 20% of workers and limits family leave pay to two-thirds of the employee's regular rate. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote on the measure as early as Monday.
Data for Progress and The Justice Collaborative found that 66% of voters--including 56% of Republicans--support providing two weeks of paid sick leave for all U.S. workers in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and 68% support guaranteeing two weeks of paid family leave for workers whose children are diagnosed with coronavirus.
"To be clear--two weeks is not long enough given the likely duration of this crisis," the groups wrote in a memo (pdf) on their findings. "The CDC has recommended cancelling events with fifty or more people for the next eight weeks."
The survey also found that 76% support free testing, 75% believe any coronavirus vaccine must be free for all, and 53%--including 74% of Democrats--favor guaranteeing "every American healthcare without any out-of-pocket costs for monthly premiums, co-pays, or deductibles."
"These results show that voters support more aggressive intervention than what the federal relief legislation provides," the memo reads. "That bill does include free coronavirus testing, but it does not guarantee no-cost vaccines or access to broader comprehensive care--essential components of successfully treating the disease and slowing its spread."
In response to the findings, progressive organizer and New York congressional candidate Adem Bunkeddeko tweeted, "Humane policies are popular policies."
Strong majorities of U.S. voters across the political spectrum support an array of progressive policy proposals that would provide immediate relief to those affected by the coronavirus outbreak, including two weeks of paid sick leave, free vaccinations, and free comprehensive healthcare for all.
That's according to new survey results released Monday by progressive polling outfit Data for Progress and advocacy group The Justice Collaborative. The groups described their package of proposals as an alternative to the "neoliberal, go-it-alone policies adopted by both major parties over the last 40 years."
"To be clear--two weeks is not long enough given the likely duration of this crisis. The CDC has recommended cancelling events with fifty or more people for the next eight weeks."
--Data for Progress, The Justice Collaborative
The poll showed that U.S. voters favor far more expansive coronavirus relief than what's contained in the bill passed Saturday by the Democrat-controlled House. The Families First Coronavirus Response Act provides two weeks of paid sick leave for just 20% of workers and limits family leave pay to two-thirds of the employee's regular rate. The Republican-controlled Senate is expected to vote on the measure as early as Monday.
Data for Progress and The Justice Collaborative found that 66% of voters--including 56% of Republicans--support providing two weeks of paid sick leave for all U.S. workers in the midst of the coronavirus outbreak and 68% support guaranteeing two weeks of paid family leave for workers whose children are diagnosed with coronavirus.
"To be clear--two weeks is not long enough given the likely duration of this crisis," the groups wrote in a memo (pdf) on their findings. "The CDC has recommended cancelling events with fifty or more people for the next eight weeks."
The survey also found that 76% support free testing, 75% believe any coronavirus vaccine must be free for all, and 53%--including 74% of Democrats--favor guaranteeing "every American healthcare without any out-of-pocket costs for monthly premiums, co-pays, or deductibles."
"These results show that voters support more aggressive intervention than what the federal relief legislation provides," the memo reads. "That bill does include free coronavirus testing, but it does not guarantee no-cost vaccines or access to broader comprehensive care--essential components of successfully treating the disease and slowing its spread."
In response to the findings, progressive organizer and New York congressional candidate Adem Bunkeddeko tweeted, "Humane policies are popular policies."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.