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ANES respondents' own position on whether the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living, on the 7-point scale (1972–2024) and an earlier two-sided version with no middle option (1956–1968 and 2002); in 1956–1960 that version was a jobs-only agree/disagree statement, so its 1960-to-1964 fall reflects the wording change, not a shift in opinion.
AI-matched An AI model grouped these questions and mapped their answers onto shared categories, and a second AI review checked and corrected the grouping and mapping. No person has checked it: compare the question wordings and the answer mapping below before reading the lines against each other.
Latest: 40% answered “Individuals should get ahead on their own” in ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale, 2024.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people whose answer maps onto these categories (non-answers and answers outside the scale are left out), because surveys differ in whether they offer “don’t know.” Each column is one survey wave, evenly spaced rather than to scale in time; hover for exact shares.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale → mixed mode (2012).
Shares of people whose answer maps onto these categories (non-answers and answers outside the scale are left out), because surveys differ in whether they offer “don’t know.” Each point is one survey wave at the middle of its field period. Lines from different surveys are never spliced together.
Groups differ from everyone by 15 points on average across all answers, in ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale.
| Line | Question | Match | How answers map |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard | Government guarantee of jobs and living standard 1956-1960:
(Same introduction as in VCF0805 [CARD WITH RESPONSES SHOWN]). ‘The government in Washington ought to see to it that everybody who wants to work can find a job.’
1964,1968:
In general, some people feel that the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on his own.’ Have you been interested enough in this to favor one side over the other. (IF YES:) Do you think that the government –
2002:
Some people feel the government in Washington should see to it that every person has A JOB AND A GOOD STANDARD OF LIVING. Others think the government should just LET EACH PERSON GET AHEAD ON THEIR OWN. Which is closer to the way you feel or haven’t you thought much about this? Caveat: Dichotomous version with no middle option; wording varies across years | similar | Yes, government should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living → Government should guarantee jobs and standard of living; Yes, should let each person get ahead on his own → Individuals should get ahead on their own |
| ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale | Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale Some people feel that the government in Washington should see to it that every person has a job and a good standard of living. (1972- 1978,1996-LATER: Suppose these people are at one end of a scale, at point 1). Others think the government should just let each person get ahead on his/their own. (1972-1978,1996: Suppose these people are at the other end, at point 7. And, of course, some other people have opinions somewhere in between, at pints 2,3,4,5 or 6.) Where would you place yourself on this scale, or haven’t you thought much about this? (7-POINT SCALE SHOWN TO R) Caveat: 7-point scale; points 2-3 and 5-6 collapsed to sides, 4 is the midpoint | identical | Government see to job and good standard of living → Government should guarantee jobs and standard of living; 2 → Government should guarantee jobs and standard of living; 3 → Government should guarantee jobs and standard of living; 4 → Middle / neither side; 5 → Individuals should get ahead on their own; 6 → Individuals should get ahead on their own; Government let each person get ahead on his own → Individuals should get ahead on their own |
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale → mixed mode (2012).
Groups differ from everyone by 9 points on average across all answers, in ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. ANES: Government guarantee of jobs and living standard scale → mixed mode (2012).
Subgroup charts are picked automatically. Of every breakdown in the data (party, ideology, age, sex, race, education, income, region, religion, and community type), these two put their groups furthest from everyone’s answers: the gap is averaged across all answer categories and waves, with each group weighted by its share of respondents. Party and ideology count as one choice, so the second chart shows a different kind of split. Groups with an effective sample under 50 in a wave are left out of that wave.