At regular intervals, congressional Republicans take aim at government surveys, vowing to end or curtail them for being too intrusive. The latest target is the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. Begun in 2005 with bipartisan support, the survey polls about three million people a year on family configurations, educational levels, […] Read more »
Americans Cite Jobs, Economy, Gov’t as Top U.S. Problems
Three issues — unemployment, the economy in general, and dissatisfaction with government — dominate when Americans name the most important problem facing the nation. Nineteen percent mention unemployment or jobs, 18% say dissatisfaction with government, and 17% the economy in general. Unemployment edged out the other two issues in February, […] Read more »
Millennials rising
… The independent Pew Research Center released a major report on the attitudes of the millennial generation last week, and here’s what it found: The millennials are decidedly liberal, especially on social issues such as immigration and same-sex marriage. That helps explain why Obama won their votes by a 16-point […] Read more »
Why most conservatives are secretly liberals
… In Ideology in America, Christopher Ellis and James Stimson describe a striking disjuncture. When identifying themselves in a word, Americans choose “conservative” far more than “liberal.” In fact they have done so for 70 years, and increasingly so since the early 1960s. But when it comes to saying what […] Read more »
Why Do Smart People Disagree About Facts? Some Perspectives on Climate Denialism
… Lack of belief in climate change correlates highly with political party and with faith in government. People who lean left and look to government to solve problems believe in climate change because they can see a solution—policy—that is within the realm of their experience and tolerance. People who lean […] Read more »
Unemployment Rises to Top Problem
Americans have a new No. 1 problem. Nearly one in four Americans mention jobs and unemployment as the most important problem facing the country, up from 16% in January. The government and politicians had topped the list since the government shutdown in October. CONT. Rebecca Riffkin, Gallup Read more »