Americans’ ratings of their standard of living have increased since President Barack Obama took office in 2009, with the Gallup Standard of Living Index rising steadily for the past 7 ½ years. CONT. Art Swift, Gallup Read more »
Slim Majority Again Sees Unions as Helping Economy
A slim majority of Americans, 52%, say labor unions mostly help the U.S. economy, while 41% believe unions mostly hurt it. After a sharp 14-point decline between 2006 and 2009 in the percentage of Americans who believe unions mostly help the economy, public opinion is essentially back to what it […] Read more »
Consumer confidence in holding pattern in August
Consumers were a bit less optimistic in August than one month or one year ago, although consumer confidence remains at a reasonably high level, according to the University of Michigan (U-M) Surveys of Consumers. CONT. University of Michigan Read more »
Trump, Clinton and Americans Agree on Several Economic Issues
Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton delivered major economic speeches within the last several weeks. Trump spoke in Detroit and Clinton in Warren, Michigan, just outside of the Motor City. Reading through the two candidates’ speeches, it’s immediately apparent that, as befits a political campaign, both candidates make it sound […] Read more »
Key ingredients of opposition to free trade? Prejudice and nationalism
… Many observers have noted that Donald Trump’s anti-trade language is decidedly “us versus them.” In Britain, the “leave” movement’s campaign against economic openness was infused with anti-foreign sentiment. A series of studies by both economists and political scientists confirms this link between nationalistic sentiment and opposition to global markets. […] Read more »
Trump Sees an Economy in Tatters, But Many Republicans Are Feeling Fine
The 2016 campaign may be centered on the question of whether America is struggling or thriving economically, but data from Gallup indicate a majority of Americans think their economic lives are improving. The numbers challenge a dominant theme of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump’s campaign – that most Americans are […] Read more »