Consumer confidence retreated in February from a 13-year high as Americans tempered expectations of their finances and the economy, with sentiment remaining sharply divided among party lines. The University of Michigan said Friday that its preliminary index of sentiment cooled to a three-month low of 95.7 from 98.5 in January. […] Read more »
Government Dissatisfaction Returns as Most Important Problem
Dissatisfaction with the government now clearly leads as the issue Americans see as the most important problem facing the U.S. The 19% mentioning the government is up from 11% last month and is now significantly higher than the percentage mentioning any other issue. CONT. Jeffrey M. Jones, Gallup Read more »
The Fix We’re In
How do people think and talk about opportunity and inequality in the United States? We hear about these themes frequently these days, from economists, from the philanthropic community, from political pundits and among the slogans and sound bites of recent political campaigns. But what do “regular” Americans think, and what […] Read more »
IBD/TIPP Poll: 51% Back Trump’s Temporary Ban On Refugees
Despite almost nonstop criticism from politicians, prominent business leaders and the media over President Trump’s decision to suspend refugees for 120 days, the public still supports Trump by a margin of 51% to 48%, according to the latest IBD/TIPP poll. Trump, however, starts his presidency with very low approval ratings. […] Read more »
The Peculiar Populism of Donald Trump
All wars have unintended consequences, including culture wars. … In an article to be published in the June issue of Perspectives on Politics, “Trump and the Xenophobic Populist Parties: The Silent Revolution in Reverse,” Ronald Inglehart and Pippa Norris put their case in blunt terms: “Postmaterialism,” they write, “eventually became […] Read more »
Parties of the Left, Wake Up!
Center-left parties in America and Europe are struggling. They are struggling for three reasons: First, they have failed to offer a credible response to the period of prolonged income stagnation and growing inequality; second, they have become part of the political-business-elite accommodation that the public views as corrupt; and third, […] Read more »