Four years after the passage of the Affordable Care Act, Americans are still of two minds about the health care reform law. When pollsters break Obamacare apart, nearly all of the individual pieces are well regarded. But when they ask about Obamacare as a single, hulking policy, it’s derided. Americans […] Read more »
The Decline of Trust in the United States
Trust is the glue that binds people together. It is a rare concept in the social and behavioral sciences in that the evidence for its benefits is overwhelming. … The General Social Survey (GSS), which has collected data on Americans and their characteristics since 1972, contains information on trust and […] Read more »
Tea Party Members Really, Really Don’t Trust Scientists
It’s one of the biggest trends in US politics over the last decade: A growing left-right split over the validity of scientific information. This “science gap” is apparent most of all on the issue of climate change, but the problem is much broader, encompassing topics ranging from evolution to the […] Read more »
Fox News Poll: Trust in government down 44% among GOP in last decade
When it comes to Washington controversies, most American voters think Benghazi, the IRS and the government’s electronic surveillance program are serious matters. A Fox News poll also finds that less than four in 10 voters trust the federal government. The new poll, released Thursday, finds 37 percent of voters answer […] Read more »
America in 2013, as Told in Charts
Looking back on 2013, many of the economic and political themes seemed familiar: a weak economy. Growing income inequality. Gridlock in Washington. Partisan wrangling over fiscal policy. But others, like the disastrous rollout of the Affordable Care Act HealthCare.gov website and the government shutdown, were new or at least revivals. […] Read more »
For Obamacare, Trust in Federal Government is Key to Success
The implementation of the Affordable Care Act may cause its downfall, but not for the reasons everyone suspects. … Decades of polling demonstrate that Americans trust the federal government much less than state governments. Americans believe that state governments work better and are more capable of catering to their specific needs. […] Read more »