Most Americans find it unacceptable for the National Security Agency to collect the phone records of millions of U.S. citizens. In addition, a majority lacks trust in the federal government, and an increasing number of people say it’s too big. [cont.] Dana Blanton, Fox News Read more »
Economy Still Top Issue, but Its Dominance Lessens
Americans continue to name the economy as the biggest problem facing the country, followed by unemployment and dissatisfaction with government. These are trailed by concerns about healthcare, ethics and moral decline, the federal budget deficit, immigration, and education, each mentioned by at least 5% of Americans. [cont.] Frank Newport, Gallup Read more »
Why we live in such polarized times, explained in 1 poll question
Want to understand why we live in such politically polarized times? In the new NBC-Wall Street Journal national poll is a question that explains the partisan rift as simply and as well as we have seen. Respondents were asked to decide which of two statements better represented their own views. […] Read more »
Views That Gov’t Is Too Powerful Show Little Change
Fifty-four percent of Americans say the federal government today has too much power. Despite the recent controversies facing federal agencies such as the IRS, these views are only marginally higher than in 2012, and slightly lower than in 2010 and 2011. [cont.] Frank Newport, Gallup Read more »
The Congressional War on the Social Sciences
… The nation’s basic science policy, more or less secure for six decades, is being upended, a result of two converging congressional concerns. One is specific to the social sciences—are they real sciences? The second, and much broader, is congressional concern with impact, productivity, pay-off, performance—what justifies science’s claim on […] Read more »
Americans Sour on IRS, Rate CDC and FBI Most Positively
A new Gallup poll finds Americans’ views of the job the Internal Revenue Service is doing skewing much more negative than in the past, with 42% saying the IRS is doing a poor job, up from 20% in 2009 and 15% in 2003. Meanwhile, positive ratings of the IRS have […] Read more »