CBS poll finds support for Biden social bill, but fixation on cost

A new poll indicates that most Americans approve of the Biden administration’s “Build Back Better” plan despite a limited number of respondents who are familiar with its details. 

The CBS News/YouGov survey conducted between Oct. 6-8 found that 54 percent of Americans approve of the plan while just 10 percent of respondents know “a lot of the specifics” of the plan. 

Just under 30 percent of respondents said that they did not know what is in the plan at all, according to the poll. 

Notably, 59 percent have heard about the package’s $3.5 trillion price tag, and 58 percent know about the plan’s proposed tax hikes for wealthy people. But only 40 percent know about the plan’s lower Medicare drug prices or coverage for dental, eye and hearing care.

This could have been a contributing factor to the 31 percent of respondents who said they think the plan would have no effect on them. Another 36 percent of people who responded said that they believe the plan would help them and their families directly. 

Despite the slight majority of Americans approving of the plan overall, only 41 percent also said that they think the plan would help the economy. 

These results seem to indicate a possible disconnect between the Biden administration’s policies and the desires of the American public. 

Thirty-seven percent of survey respondents said that President Biden and the Democratic Party are focusing on issues they “care a lot about.”

Within the Democratic Party, Biden’s sweeping spending package has been the subject of internal feuds ranging from issues surrounding the plan’s high price tag as well as its content.

Amid arguments between moderate and progressive lawmakers, Democrats can afford to lose three votes in the House in order to pass the package. They cannot lose a single vote in the Senate.

The CBS News/YouGov’s survey was conducted with a sample of 2,054 American adults and had a margin of error of 2.6 percentage points.