Less than two months before Americans go to the polls to elect their president, a new national survey released today upends commonly held-beliefs about white working-class Americans. The report, “Beyond God and Guns: Understanding the Complexities of the White Working Class in America,” highlights the significant divides among white working-class […] Read more »
Americans’ View on Economic Outlook Improves to Four-Month High
Americans’ view of the economic outlook improved in September as stock prices rallied to a five- year high. The gap between positive and negative expectations narrowed to minus 8 this month, the highest reading since May, as the percentage saying the U.S. was heading in the wrong direction dropped by […] Read more »
Are voters giving up on recovery?
For the past 12 months, I have said President Obama would lose his reelection bid, primarily because of the national discouragement reflected in the well-known and widely used “right direction” or “wrong track” question. Historical data says that candidates for president or governor facing an electorate that is majority-“wrong track” […] Read more »
Democrats Continue to Boost Economic Confidence
Democrats and, to a lesser degree, independents continue to buoy U.S. economic confidence in September. These groups’ confidence rose sharply in early September, coinciding with the first day of the Democratic National Convention on Sept. 4, and remained elevated last week. At the same time, at -55, Republicans’ overall confidence […] Read more »
GOP focuses on monthly jobs report, but do voters?
The government’s monthly jobs report has become Washington’s most anticipated and studied economic indicator, pounced upon by politicians, economists and journalists for snap judgments as the presidential election nears. But in the real world, most everybody else just looks around and figures things out for themselves. … “People are not […] Read more »
The Public Sector Recession
… America’s public sector is still in a recession. … Since 2009, more than 500,000 local government jobs have been lost. … The numbers may hold particular challenges for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney. While persistent high unemployment overall is a serious drag for President Obama, as it is for […] Read more »