Gallup’s U.S. Economic Confidence Index averaged -18 the week of Jan. 7-13, a bit less negative than the -21 the prior week. Confidence remains lower than it was in the final weeks before, and first few weeks after, the 2012 presidential election. However, the current reading is among the more […] Read more »
The Economy and the Campaign
Income growth was slow through most of 2012, and prospective voters were correspondingly pessimistic about the state of the economy. So how was Barack Obama reelected? An important part of the answer is that perceptions of the economy became significantly less pessimistic in the fall than they had been in […] Read more »
Debt, Gov’t Dysfunction Rise to Top of Americans’ Issue List
Americans’ concerns about the federal budget deficit and government dysfunction rose high enough in January to knock unemployment out of the top two slots on Gallup’s “most important problem” list for the first time since 2009. [cont.] Frank Newport, Gallup Read more »
Consumer Comfort Falls as U.S. Payroll Tax Takes Hold
Consumer confidence waned last week and firings unexpectedly climbed, the first sign that higher U.S. payroll taxes will slow the economic expansion at the start of this year. The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell to minus 34.4 in the seven days ended Jan. 6 from minus 31.8 the prior period, […] Read more »
Americans Consider Individual Freedoms Nation’s Top Virtue
Americans consider individual freedoms, the quality of life, and the opportunity for people to get ahead to be the United States’ standout virtues relative to other modern, industrialized nations, with majorities rating the U.S. the best or above average in each area. At the same time, fewer than half of […] Read more »
Americans Unsure if Best Times for U.S. Are Past or to Come
Americans are split when asked if the country’s best years are ahead of us or behind us, with views on the future quite differentiated across party lines. Republicans are much more pessimistic about the future of the country than are Democrats. [cont.] Frank Newport, Gallup Read more »