A number of factors underpin the anti-redistributionist shift in public opinion that I wrote about last week. First, and perhaps most important, is the emergence of significant resistance to downward redistribution among the elderly, a major voting bloc. CONT. Thomas B. Edsall, New York Times Read more »
Americans’ Views on Open Government Data
Government reformers and advocates believe that two contemporary phenomena hold the potential to change how people engage with governments at all levels. The first is data. There is more of it than ever before and there are more effective tools for sharing it. This creates new service-delivery possibilities for government […] Read more »
Managing Government Key Part of a President’s Image
Most Americans believe that managing government effectively is an important requirement for a good president, and in recent years, sitting presidents’ ratings on this trait have closely matched their overall job approval ratings. Currently, 44% of Americans say that President Barack Obama is an effective manager of government, while 48% […] Read more »
Has Obamacare Turned Voters Against Sharing the Wealth?
With the advent of the Affordable Care Act, the share of Americans convinced that health care is a right shrank from a majority to a minority. This shift in public opinion is a major victory for the Republican Party. It is part of a larger trend: a steady decline in […] Read more »
5 facts on how Americans view taxes
Benjamin Franklin popularized the sentiment that nothing is certain “except death and taxes.” But the public isn’t too keen on the current federal tax system, with 59% saying there is so much wrong that Congress should completely change it (38% say it works pretty well and needs only minor changes). […] Read more »
About Half in U.S. Say Environmental Protection Falls Short
Nearly half of Americans (48%) say the U.S. government is doing “too little” to protect the environment, while 16% say it is doing “too much.” Roughly a third (34%) say it is doing “about the right amount” in terms of environmental protection. CONT. Justin McCarthy, Gallup Read more »