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

Memo: Americans Want a Progressive Overhaul of American Foreign Policy
It’s been nearly two decades since the U.S. dramatically increased its global military footprint after the attacks on September 11, 2001, and we still haven’t removed our troops from the Middle East. Representatives from both parties have supported our foreign wars, often assuming that the American people are on their side.

But according to polling data analyzed in a new Data for Progress memo, Americans actually want to reduce our military impact abroad. A majority of voters — 69 percent — believe that we should end the wars in the Middle East, while just 16 percent disagreed.



Voters also want the U.S. to stop selling weapons to authoritarian regimes that commit human rights abuses by a 58-24 margin.

This less interventionist pattern also applies to the budget. 51 percent of voters support reallocating the military budget to other priorities, while 36 percent oppose.


Two Memos Show American Support for Progressive Pharmaceutical Policies
In a pair of memos, we demonstrated that even with Republican counter-arguments, Americans support a slew of progressive pharmaceutical policies.

Even after hearing the pharmaceutical industry’s framing on each issue, Americans still polled in favor of allowing Medicare to negotiate pharma prices and revoking patents from pharma companies if they overcharge customers — with 65 percent and 58 percent support, respectively. This is important, because it shows that even in the face of lobbying from the pharmaceutical industry, the progressive agenda can win.



In our other memo, we found that a strong majority of Americans — 65 percent — support removing the non-interference clause that prohibits the federal government from negotiating drug pricing. Only 16 percent opposed.


Memo: Gun Violence Prevention
While the media often claims that the issue of gun violence prevention “divides” Americans, voters are actually united in support of progressive gun legislation. According to survey data analyzed in a recent memo, 72 percent of Americans support requiring all gun owners to be licensed and all guns to be registered. This includes a strong majority of moderates and about half of conservatives.



Furthermore, a strong majority of voters — 68 percent — support banning high-capacity magazines, and a plurality of 49 percent support a ban on assault rifles. 

And while a mandatory gun buyback was not supported by the majority of Americans (37 percent in favor, 54 percent opposed), a voluntary buyback was popular, with 67 percent support.


Memo: Polling on Medicare for All
Despite narratives that Medicare for All is losing support, the policy is still broadly popular. In a recent survey, we asked voters whether they’d vote for Trump against a Democrat calling to strengthen the ACA, and whether they’d vote for Trump against a Democrat supporting Medicare for All. 

We found that the Medicare for All-supporting Democrat was more electable, beating Trump by a 13-point margin, compared with a 6-point margin for the ACA-supporting Democrat.



We also found that Warren’s new proposal to implement Medicare for All without raising middle class taxes is popular. A Medicare for All plan without middle class tax hikes was supported by 57 percent of Americans and opposed by just 30 percent.

We also tested which benefits of Medicare for All made respondents more and less supportive of the policy. We found that the most appealing benefits through this metric were allowing people to choose their doctors, empowering Medicare to negotiate drug prices, providing universal insurance, and freeing employees from fear of losing coverage.




Data Bytes

• Memo: The Green Homes Guarantee is Popular: In a recent memo, we analyzed polling data on a variety of housing and environmental issues. We found that a majority of Americans support creating a National Tenant Bill of Rights, implementing a homes guarantee, investing $100 billion into social housing, and prioritizing green investments in housing retrofits and public transit.
  
   

• Voters Overwhelmingly Prefer the Warren and Sanders Tax Plans: In a recent survey, we showed voters the effective tax rates of four prospective tax plans. Plans A, B, C, and D represented Sanders’, Warren’s, Biden’s, and Trump’s proposals, respectively.
  
  
  
  Overall, Sanders’ and Warren’s plans were the most popular, while Biden’s and Trump’s were the least popular. Notably, Warren’s plan was more popular among Republicans than Trump’s.
  
  

• Battleground 2020 Polling: On November 4, the New York Times released polls showing that Biden was more electable against Trump in battleground states than Sanders or Warren. A similar Civiqs poll from November 3 did not come to the same conclusion.
  
  According to the poll, Biden has no clear advantage over Warren and Sanders in battleground states. All three candidates beat Trump in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin.
  
   

• Memo: Voters Support Overhauling America's School Meal Programs: In a recent memo, we showed that a majority of Americans — 65 percent — would support a policy to spend federal revenue on school lunches to “provide students with locally-grown, fresh, and nutritious food prepped on-site.”
  
  To read our full memo, click here.

From The Blog
Voters Overwhelmingly Prefer the Warren and Sanders Tax Plans
Here’s How Voters Might Move Tonight
Medicare for Kids Is A Political Winner
Cities Must Lead on Climate Policy
The Progressive Labor Agenda Is Popular. Are Insurgents Running On It?
Democrats Are Poised To Take The Virginia State Senate


Media Hits
Republican voters prefer Elizabeth Warren's tax plan to Trump's, new poll shows @The Week
Voters Want Leaders to Put People Over the Pentagon, Poll Shows @Public Citizen
We Need Indigenous Wisdom to Survive the Apocalypse @The Walrus
Occupy Alcatraz: Native American Activism in the Modern Era @New York Times
Why Political Pundits Are Obsessed with Hidden Moderates @GQ
Which Democrat is more electable? The latest batch of polling says little. @Washington Post
Democrats Need to Stop Freaking Out About Polls @The Nation
Debatable: How Do the Democrats Beat Trump in 2020? @New York Times
How Warren's plan changes the terms of the 'Medicare for All' debate @NBC News


Donate
Give us money. No, seriously, give us money.