2020 was not a happy year for most Americans. Just over half say that, personally, 2020 was a year filled mostly with sadness. Just 22% say it was a year filled mostly with happiness. But looking ahead, most Americans feel hopeful. CONTINUED Fred Backus, CBS News The OPINION TODAY email newsletter is […] Read more »
Pandemic puts a damper on holiday spirits
As a year marked by a pandemic, economic uncertainty, and a divisive election comes to a close, few Americans are feeling festive during the holiday season. Just 22% of Americans feel very or extremely festive this year, down from 49% one year ago. Although more Americans are experiencing positive emotions […] Read more »
Eleven-Country Survey: Americans with Lower Income Are the Sickest, Most Likely to Struggle to Afford Care
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to ravage the globe, new findings from the 2020 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey show that Americans with lower income face more severe health and financial hardships compared to their counterparts in other wealthy countries. … Fielded between February and May 2020, during the […] Read more »
Americans’ Mental Health Ratings Sink to New Low
Americans’ latest assessment of their mental health is worse than it has been at any point in the last two decades. Seventy-six percent of U.S. adults rate their mental health positively, representing a nine-point decline from 2019. CONTINUED Megan Brenan, Gallup Read more »
Fewer Americans Call for Tougher Criminal Justice System
Americans’ belief that the U.S. criminal justice system is “not tough enough” on crime is now half of what it was in Gallup’s initial reading of 83% in 1992. The latest measure, at 41%, is the lowest on record and down slightly from the previous reading in 2016 — although […] Read more »
Trump has made Americans’ lives worse. Here’s the proof.
Donald Trump’s America is one sad place. We, as a nation, have fallen into a great depression, though not necessarily an economic one. By one highly respected gauge, self-reported levels of happiness are at their lowest since social scientists began asking such questions half a century ago. Much of this […] Read more »