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Whether the country spends too much, too little, or about the right amount on halting the rising crime rate (GSS, since 1973). A second GSS line uses the split-ballot alternate wording. The ANES line asks whether federal spending should be increased, kept the same, or decreased.
Latest: 66% answered “Too little” in ANES, 2024.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. ANES → mixed mode (2012).
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. GSS: Spending on halting the rising crime rate → web (2021).
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. GSS: Spending on law enforcement → web (2021).
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 → mixed mode (2012); 2. GSS: Spending on law enforcement → web (2021).
Groups differ from everyone by 4 points on average across all answers, in GSS: Spending on halting the rising crime rate.
| Line | Question | Match | How answers map |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANES | Federal spending on dealing with crime FEDERAL SPENDING - GENERAL TEXT
If you had a say in making up the federal budget this year, for which (1986 AND LATER: of the following) programs would you like to see spending increased and for which would you like to see spending decreased:
Should federal spending on [ITEM] be increased, decreased or kept about the same?
Dealing with crime Caveat: ANES asks whether federal spending should be increased, kept the same, or decreased. | similar | Increased → Too little; Same → About right; Decreased (before 2012: or cut out entirely) → Too much |
| GSS: Spending on halting the rising crime rate | Spending on halting the rising crime rate We are faced with many problems in this country, none of which can be solved easily or inexpensively. I'm going to name some of these problems, and for each one I'd like you to name some of these problems, and for each one I'd like you to tell me whether you think we're spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount. First (READ ITEM A) . . . are we spending too much, too little, or about the right amount on (ITEM)?
E. Halting the rising crime rate | identical | Too little → Too little; About right → About right; Too much → Too much |
| GSS: Spending on law enforcement | Spending on law enforcement We are faced with many problems in this country, none of which can be solved easily or inexpensively. I'm going to name some of these problems, and for each one I'd like you to tell me whether you think we're spending too much money on it, too little money, or about the right amount. First (READ ITEM A) . . . are we spending too much, too little, or about the right amount on (ITEM)?
E. Law enforcement Caveat: GSS split-ballot alternate wording (e.g. 'assistance to big cities' vs. 'solving the problems of big cities'); a deliberate wording experiment, so levels differ systematically. | similar | Too little → Too little; About right → About right; Too much → Too much |
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.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. GSS: Spending on halting the rising crime rate → web (2021).
Groups differ from everyone by 4 points on average across all answers, in GSS: Spending on halting the rising crime rate.
Dashed lines mark changes in how interviews were done, which can shift answers: 1. GSS: Spending on halting the rising crime rate → web (2021).
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.