Donald Trump, the Republican Party presidential nominee, has aggressively attacked trade and immigration in his campaign speeches, claiming globalization “has left millions of our workers with nothing but poverty and heartache.” This rhetoric, and the weakness of the U.S. economy in recent years, has led many to conclude that his […] Read more »
Americans’ Satisfaction With U.S. Drops Sharply
Americans’ satisfaction with the way things are going in the U.S. dropped 12 percentage points in the past month, amid high-profile police killings of black men and mass shootings of police. Currently, 17% of Americans are satisfied with the state of affairs in the U.S. CONT. Art Swift, Gallup Read more »
Economic Confidence Stuck at Lower Level
Americans’ confidence in the economy remains weak, with Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index at -17 last week, consistent with levels seen since mid-June. This is in contrast to the stronger confidence levels seen for most of the first half of the year, when the index averaged -12. CONT. Alyssa Davis, […] Read more »
Bush Still Leads Obama in Blame for U.S. Economic Troubles
As Barack Obama’s two-term presidency enters its final months, more Americans still blame George W. Bush than Obama for the nation’s economic ills. When asked how much they blame each president for current economic problems, 64% of Americans say Bush deserves a “great deal” or “moderate amount” of blame, compared […] Read more »
How do people really feel about the economy?
… This post will not tackle the substance of Americans’ worries about the economy but instead highlights a puzzle arising from pollsters’ efforts to quantify those worries. I’ll show that, when Americans are asked specifically about the economy, in an apolitical context, they are for the most part not nearly […] Read more »
Obama’s Rise Isn’t Lifting All Boats
While both parties decry of the state of the economy and terrorism shows no signs of abating, President Obama’s job approval rating in every major poll out this month – NBC/Wall Street Journal, ABC/Washington Post, CNN and Bloomberg – is between 51 and 53 percent. The easiest explanation for his […] Read more »