{
  "alt": "Line chart of the Democratic minus Republican gap by survey year, with confidence bands, for the ANES government plan scale from 1970 to 2024, the GSS question on government help paying for medical care from 1975 to 2024 and the GSS spending question from 1973 to 2024. The ANES gap is {fact:gp_a_1970} points in 1970, {fact:gp_a_1992} in 1992, {fact:gp_a_2012} in 2012, {fact:gp_a_2020} in 2020 and {fact:gp_a_2024} in 2024. The GSS help-pay gap is {fact:gp_g_1975} points in 1975, {fact:gp_g_1991} in 1991, {fact:gp_g_2016} in 2016 and {fact:gp_g_2024} in 2024. The GSS spending gap is {fact:gp_s_1973} in 1973, {fact:gp_s_2010} in 2010 and {fact:gp_s_2024} in 2024. Shaded bands mark 1993 to 1994 and 2009 to 2010.",
  "caption": "The ANES and GSS help-pay lines, the two questions about government's role, lie above zero in every survey and are higher in every survey from 2010 on than in any survey before 1993, and the spending line, a different question, rises over the same span. A value above zero means Democrats were more likely than Republicans to give the answer. Each line joins survey years, each band is a 95% confidence interval, and the shaded bands mark the dates of the Clinton plan and of the ACA debate and passage, which are positions on the axis and not tests of a cause.",
  "data": [
    {
      "conf_high": 30.1622,
      "conf_low": 18.6356,
      "estimate": 24.3989,
      "n": 1112,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1970
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 25.0038,
      "conf_low": 12.5369,
      "estimate": 18.7703,
      "n": 959,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1972
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 29.2116,
      "conf_low": 19.2717,
      "estimate": 24.2417,
      "n": 1494,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1976
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 29.8475,
      "conf_low": 20.256,
      "estimate": 25.0517,
      "n": 1596,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1978
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 23.8984,
      "conf_low": 9.71013,
      "estimate": 16.8043,
      "n": 688,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1984
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 27.5307,
      "conf_low": 17.8862,
      "estimate": 22.7084,
      "n": 1512,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1988
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 34.5427,
      "conf_low": 25.8069,
      "estimate": 30.1748,
      "n": 1873,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1992
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 35.8654,
      "conf_low": 25.5612,
      "estimate": 30.7133,
      "n": 1470,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1994
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 36.3381,
      "conf_low": 25.7194,
      "estimate": 31.0287,
      "n": 1402,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 1996
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 31.6227,
      "conf_low": 17.0844,
      "estimate": 24.3536,
      "n": 822,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 2000
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 39.0801,
      "conf_low": 26.2173,
      "estimate": 32.6487,
      "n": 991,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 2004
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 39.8595,
      "conf_low": 24.3267,
      "estimate": 32.0931,
      "n": 914,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 2008
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 45.1006,
      "conf_low": 38.6922,
      "estimate": 41.8964,
      "n": 4760,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 2012
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 43.3757,
      "conf_low": 36.1853,
      "estimate": 39.7805,
      "n": 3294,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 2016
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 56.7357,
      "conf_low": 51.336,
      "estimate": 54.0359,
      "n": 6577,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 2020
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 50.3949,
      "conf_low": 42.8426,
      "estimate": 46.6187,
      "n": 4489,
      "survey": "ANES: government plan",
      "year": 2024
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 23.4,
      "conf_low": 10.8289,
      "estimate": 17.1145,
      "n": 1236,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1975
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 33.5177,
      "conf_low": 20.461,
      "estimate": 26.9894,
      "n": 1348,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1983
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 24.2417,
      "conf_low": 10.2608,
      "estimate": 17.2513,
      "n": 1235,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1984
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 27.5127,
      "conf_low": 15.2971,
      "estimate": 21.4049,
      "n": 1233,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1986
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 22.9288,
      "conf_low": 10.6658,
      "estimate": 16.7973,
      "n": 1565,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1987
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 19.2861,
      "conf_low": 4.38652,
      "estimate": 11.8363,
      "n": 857,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1988
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 23.7574,
      "conf_low": 9.0626,
      "estimate": 16.41,
      "n": 872,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1989
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 20.7032,
      "conf_low": 5.05244,
      "estimate": 12.8778,
      "n": 771,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1990
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 21.3958,
      "conf_low": 6.81487,
      "estimate": 14.1053,
      "n": 866,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1991
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 27.2519,
      "conf_low": 12.6847,
      "estimate": 19.9683,
      "n": 882,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1993
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 32.1918,
      "conf_low": 21.8022,
      "estimate": 26.997,
      "n": 1654,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1994
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 29.1751,
      "conf_low": 18.3867,
      "estimate": 23.7809,
      "n": 1539,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1996
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 27.3547,
      "conf_low": 16.2836,
      "estimate": 21.8191,
      "n": 1508,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 1998
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 34.7006,
      "conf_low": 23.5743,
      "estimate": 29.1374,
      "n": 1445,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2000
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 38.7353,
      "conf_low": 22.3576,
      "estimate": 30.5464,
      "n": 705,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2002
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 30.9534,
      "conf_low": 14.1438,
      "estimate": 22.5486,
      "n": 727,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2004
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 35.0964,
      "conf_low": 23.3723,
      "estimate": 29.2343,
      "n": 1498,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2006
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 38.9406,
      "conf_low": 25.3007,
      "estimate": 32.1206,
      "n": 1093,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2008
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 46.4461,
      "conf_low": 32.7835,
      "estimate": 39.6148,
      "n": 1060,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2010
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 39.0454,
      "conf_low": 24.4744,
      "estimate": 31.7599,
      "n": 1017,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2012
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 44.3018,
      "conf_low": 32.9037,
      "estimate": 38.6027,
      "n": 1255,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2014
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 49.0642,
      "conf_low": 38.1082,
      "estimate": 43.5862,
      "n": 1520,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2016
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 43.4634,
      "conf_low": 29.5923,
      "estimate": 36.5278,
      "n": 1203,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2018
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 51.3111,
      "conf_low": 41.5205,
      "estimate": 46.4158,
      "n": 2005,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2021
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 45.3785,
      "conf_low": 31.4408,
      "estimate": 38.4097,
      "n": 1703,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2022
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 48.9142,
      "conf_low": 36.1174,
      "estimate": 42.5158,
      "n": 1538,
      "survey": "GSS: government should help",
      "year": 2024
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 19.4982,
      "conf_low": 7.36163,
      "estimate": 13.4299,
      "n": 1242,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1973
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 13.0599,
      "conf_low": 0.661951,
      "estimate": 6.86092,
      "n": 1212,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1974
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 18.6508,
      "conf_low": 6.20598,
      "estimate": 12.4284,
      "n": 1225,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1975
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 18.0582,
      "conf_low": 5.17667,
      "estimate": 11.6174,
      "n": 1205,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1976
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 20.3423,
      "conf_low": 7.73468,
      "estimate": 14.0385,
      "n": 1277,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1977
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 25.6302,
      "conf_low": 11.3502,
      "estimate": 18.4902,
      "n": 1247,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1978
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 28.9061,
      "conf_low": 14.9793,
      "estimate": 21.9427,
      "n": 1164,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1980
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 20.8985,
      "conf_low": 7.34867,
      "estimate": 14.1236,
      "n": 1538,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1982
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 25.4156,
      "conf_low": 11.9872,
      "estimate": 18.7014,
      "n": 1345,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1983
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 34.2373,
      "conf_low": 11.6853,
      "estimate": 22.9613,
      "n": 404,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1984
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 20.186,
      "conf_low": 1.64037,
      "estimate": 10.9132,
      "n": 639,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1985
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 23.3751,
      "conf_low": 5.89408,
      "estimate": 14.6346,
      "n": 614,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1986
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 25.1818,
      "conf_low": 5.2701,
      "estimate": 15.226,
      "n": 517,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1987
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 15.1418,
      "conf_low": -1.70783,
      "estimate": 6.71698,
      "n": 598,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1988
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 18.8413,
      "conf_low": 2.46769,
      "estimate": 10.6545,
      "n": 639,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1989
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 15.106,
      "conf_low": -1.10139,
      "estimate": 7.00231,
      "n": 572,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1990
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 19.8518,
      "conf_low": 4.04846,
      "estimate": 11.9501,
      "n": 631,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1991
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 24.8798,
      "conf_low": 9.63122,
      "estimate": 17.2555,
      "n": 662,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1993
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 30.6683,
      "conf_low": 18.7885,
      "estimate": 24.7284,
      "n": 1234,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1994
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 27.19,
      "conf_low": 15.2192,
      "estimate": 21.2046,
      "n": 1153,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1996
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 20.3582,
      "conf_low": 7.88926,
      "estimate": 14.1237,
      "n": 1075,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 1998
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 20.9907,
      "conf_low": 8.61528,
      "estimate": 14.803,
      "n": 1068,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2000
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 22.444,
      "conf_low": 9.87583,
      "estimate": 16.1599,
      "n": 1042,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2002
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 20.1092,
      "conf_low": 8.52802,
      "estimate": 14.3186,
      "n": 1150,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2004
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 24.1218,
      "conf_low": 11.5315,
      "estimate": 17.8266,
      "n": 1130,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2006
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 23.0334,
      "conf_low": 8.42,
      "estimate": 15.7267,
      "n": 787,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2008
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 37.3528,
      "conf_low": 21.006,
      "estimate": 29.1794,
      "n": 792,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2010
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 34.0513,
      "conf_low": 16.1525,
      "estimate": 25.1019,
      "n": 752,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2012
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 32.9251,
      "conf_low": 18.4699,
      "estimate": 25.6975,
      "n": 965,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2014
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 22.2563,
      "conf_low": 8.55839,
      "estimate": 15.4074,
      "n": 1129,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2016
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 30.9775,
      "conf_low": 15.9108,
      "estimate": 23.4441,
      "n": 898,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2018
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 47.3472,
      "conf_low": 35.977,
      "estimate": 41.6621,
      "n": 1467,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2021
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 38.3683,
      "conf_low": 21.2972,
      "estimate": 29.8327,
      "n": 1248,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2022
    },
    {
      "conf_high": 22.5204,
      "conf_low": 8.15244,
      "estimate": 15.3364,
      "n": 1155,
      "survey": "GSS: spending too little",
      "year": 2024
    }
  ],
  "id": "gap_by_year",
  "notes": [
    "The 2012, 2016 and 2024 ANES studies combined in-person and web samples, and the 2020 study had no in-person interviews. GSS interviews were mostly in person through 2018, mostly on the web in 2021, and in both modes in 2022 and 2024. The text and the mode figure check what these changes can do to the lines.",
    "The ANES asked the scale of a subsample of respondents in 1972, 1984, 2000 and 2008, so those intervals are wider. The ANES government side is the three points nearest the government plan, and the midpoint stays in the denominator. The GSS asked the spending question of a subsample from 1984 to 1993, so its intervals are wider there. A party cell needs at least 150 respondents and an effective sample of at least 100."
  ],
  "source": "ANES Cumulative Data File, 1970-2024, and General Social Survey, 1973-2024; weighted (weight, VCF0009z; weight_use)",
  "spec": {
    "annotations": [
      {
        "label": "No gap",
        "type": "y-rule",
        "y": 0
      },
      {
        "label": "Clinton plan",
        "type": "band",
        "x1": 1993,
        "x2": 1994
      },
      {
        "label": "ACA debate and passage",
        "type": "band",
        "x1": 2009,
        "x2": 2010
      }
    ],
    "colors": {
      "ANES: government plan": "cat1",
      "GSS: government should help": "cat2",
      "GSS: spending too little": "cat3"
    },
    "dashed": [
      "GSS: government should help",
      "GSS: spending too little"
    ],
    "hi": "conf_high",
    "lo": "conf_low",
    "n": "n",
    "series": "survey",
    "x": "year",
    "xDomain": [
      1969,
      2025
    ],
    "xLabel": "Survey year",
    "y": "estimate",
    "yDomain": [
      -10,
      60
    ],
    "yFormat": {
      "digits": 0
    },
    "yLabel": "Democratic minus Republican gap (points)"
  },
  "subtitle": "Democratic minus Republican share on the government side (ANES, GSS help) or saying we spend too little (GSS spending), party identifiers including leaners, 1970 to 2024; 95% intervals",
  "table": {
    "columns": [
      {
        "key": "survey",
        "label": "Survey and answer"
      },
      {
        "key": "year",
        "label": "Year"
      },
      {
        "format": {
          "digits": 1
        },
        "key": "estimate",
        "label": "Gap (points)"
      },
      {
        "format": {
          "digits": 1
        },
        "key": "conf_low",
        "label": "Lower"
      },
      {
        "format": {
          "digits": 1
        },
        "key": "conf_high",
        "label": "Upper"
      },
      {
        "format": {
          "thousands": true
        },
        "key": "n",
        "label": "Respondents"
      }
    ]
  },
  "title": "The party gap on government's role in health care was above zero in every survey that asked about it and larger after 2010 than before 1993",
  "type": "line",
  "width": "wide"
}