The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights

A national poll conducted for Half in Ten after the November 2008 election shows strong support for the fundamental goal of the Half in Ten campaign – cutting poverty in the United States in half within 10 years.

The poll also shows a strong consensus across ideological, age, and race divides that "the negative consequences of poverty" affect everyone rather than "mostly those living in poor neighborhoods." A full 52 percent of respondents said that either they or someone in their immediate family was poor, up from 36 percent who answered that way in a 2001 poll from Pew Research Center.

These numbers show that solving the problem of poverty is a vital part of economic recovery and a matter of core importance to the nation – and not just about solving economic problems for low-income Americans.