Welcome back to the Data for Progress newsletter, your weekly update on our research, blog posts, and memes.

Voters Reject the Politics of Austerity
Americans have been exposed to *constant* fear-mongering over the debt, causing many voters to be wary of using deficit spending to fund new government programs.

That’s what makes our latest polling results on deficit spending so interesting. We asked likely voters whether they’d support increasing the national debt to pay for $1,200 stimulus payments, clean energy jobs, and increasing unemployment insurance and nutrition assistance — and a clear majority supported all three proposals.



Support for deficit spending to boost our economy isn’t limited to Democratic voters, either. In a separate question, we asked likely voters whether they’d prioritize deficit spending to reduce healthcare and prescription drug costs and rebuild our infrastructure, or whether they’d prioritize reducing our “out of control national debt.” A majority of both Democratic and Independent voters — and only a slight minority of Republican voters — prioritized the deficit spending option.




Julian Brave NoiseCat: Why We Need Rep. Deb Haaland as Secretary of Interior
Our Vice President of Policy and Strategy Julian Brave NoiseCat has been all over the media recently advocating for president-elect Biden to pick Rep. Deb Haaland — who would be the first Native person ever to serve in the Cabinet — as his Secretary of Interior. Check out this clip of him on CBS News and this fantastic Politico piece. 

Also give a read to his breakdown for NBC News of how Native Americans were crucial for Biden on Election Night.


Data Bytes

• In What Demographics Have Opinions on Climate Change Moved the Most?: Each year, more and more voters are viewing climate change as an important issue — and our latest climate polling memo shows that the most prominent shifts are with Black voters, Asian American voters, and independent voters.
  
  Using VOTER survey data, we found that the percentage of black voters who viewed climate change as “very important” surged from 52 percent to 62 percent in just three years (2016-2019).
  
  
  
  The percentage of Asian Americans viewing climate change as either “very important” or “somewhat important” rose by 9 percentage points. Independents saw a 7 percentage point increase, compared with 4 percent for voters overall.
  
  
   

• Voters Want A Climate-Conscious Biden Cabinet: As we told Gizmodo’s Earther in a new piece published yesterday, every Cabinet agency is a climate agency. And voters agree: in a recent polling release, we show that 57 percent of voters want Biden to appoint Cabinet secretaries who will prioritize climate change.
  
  

 

From The Blog
A Yellen Treasury Department is Good News for the Climate
Voters Reject the Politics of Austerity
Congress Must Pass the American Worker Holiday Relief Act


Memos
Memo: In What Demographics Have Opinions on Climate Change Moved the Most?
Memo: Struggling to Breathe - Asthma, Pollution, and the Fight for Environmental Justice


Media Hits
In Trump v. Biden, Native American voters played a crucial role. It's time to recognize that. @NBC News
What a Joe Biden Cabinet Pick Might Mean for Native Americans—and Democrats @Politico
How Biden Can Ensure Every Federal Agency Is Fighting Climate Change @Gizmodo
Americans are gathering with friends and family. Are they wearing masks? @Vox
Julian Brave NoiseCat interview with CBS News @CBS News
Julian Brave NoiseCat interview with Mehdi Hasan @The Mehdi Hasan Show
How a Rahm Emanuel Appointment Would Hurt Biden and the Democrats @Common Dreams
New Poll Shows 68% of Americans Want Senators to Block Any Corporate Biden Nominees @Common Dreams
Progressives Say Biden Must Embrace Left-Leaning Policies @Bloomberg


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