At the time of the last tracking poll, the federal unemployment bonus had only been expired for a few months. That bonus has now been expired for half a year, but other pandemic-era benefits are still in play or have been extended while the worker shortage continues.
A majority of voters still do not think there is a general need to expand welfare programs in the United States (52%). This is comparable to late last year among all likely voters. But notably, the percentage of Independents who think there is no need to expand welfare jumped by 10 points (61%).
Nearly three-quarters of all likely voters think there is significant or moderate fraud and abuse in welfare programs (72%). This includes most Democrats (59%) and a significant majority of Independents (76%). Interestingly, more Democrats now say there is moderate fraud and abuse occurring in welfare programs (39%), a near-20-point shift compared to the fourth quarter of 2021.