The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® decreased marginally in December, following a slight increase in November. The Index now stands at 126.5 (1985=100), down from 126.8 (an upward revision) in November. … “Consumer confidence declined marginally in December, following a slight improvement in November,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic […] Read more »
Gallup Decade in Review: 2010-2019
A review of Gallup analyses over the past decade reveals that the years from 2010 to 2019 bore witness to key revolutionary changes in public opinion, along with some persistent trends and concerns, as well as striking moments and lasting effects. Here are the changes, issues and moments in public […] Read more »
Will it be a happy new year? Sure, in our own lives. For the country? Poll says that’s tougher.
Americans feel sunny about the new year, at least when it comes to their own lives. What about the nation as a whole? There are more clouds in the sky on that. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll this month asked Americans if they thought things would get better or worse […] Read more »
The 2010s Were the End of Normal
… Apocalypse is not yet upon our world as the 2010s draw to an end, but there are portents of disorder. The hopes nourished during the opening years of the decade — hopes that America was on a progressive path toward growing equality and freedom, hopes that technology held answers […] Read more »
Why Trump isn’t getting credit from voters for good economic news
In the past two weeks, good economic news has buoyed the Trump administration, providing a welcome distraction from his impeachment. Job growth in November exceeded expectations — 266,000 new jobs, unemployment down to 3.5 percent — prompting immediate speculation by commentators about the implications for President Trump’s reelection. Although not […] Read more »
Big Money and America’s Lost Decade
… The first thing you need to know about the very rich is that they are, politically, different from you and me. Don’t be fooled by the handful of prominent liberal or liberal-ish billionaires; systematic studies of the politics of the ultrawealthy show that they are very conservative, obsessed with […] Read more »