At a time when confidence in the nation’s banking industry is at an all-time low, the number of Americans who say they owe more money than they did last year ties its all-time high.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 32% owe more money today than they did a year ago.
Americans believe more strongly than ever that most of the government bailout money for the financial industry went to those who caused the economic meltdown and that the government hasn’t tried hard enough to bring Wall Street criminals to justice.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 73% of American Adults now think most of the bailout money went to the people who created the economic crisis.
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are seeking billions more in taxpayer money to stay afloat, and Americans have a lower opinion than ever of the government-backed mortgage lenders. Both remain in deep financial trouble after lending to many who couldn’t afford their mortgages, and Americans continue to strongly oppose that policy.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults nationwide was conducted on November 16-17, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
More voters than ever look back negatively on the government bailouts of banks, auto companies and insurance companies. They remain divided as to what role they’d like the government to play in the struggling economy.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. voters shows that 59% believe the government bailouts of the auto industry and financial sector were bad for the country.
Support is strong for replacing the entire income tax code with something simpler with lower rates. Many believe a reformed tax code would help the economy, but a flat tax is not what most voters want to see.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 77% think it’s at least somewhat important to replace the entire federal tax code with something simpler. Only 17% say it’s not important, while five percent (5%) are not sure. Those figures include 44% who say it’s Very Important and just four percent (4%) who say it’s Not at All Important.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters each were conducted on November 13-14, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke insists that the Federal Reserve is keeping inflation down, but Americans overwhelmingly say they are paying more for groceries these days and expect to pay even more in a year's time.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. Adults shows that 81% are at least somewhat concerned about inflation, including 47% who are Very Concerned.
For the second straight month, Americans are less confident than ever in the nation’s banking industry.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. Adults shows that just 34% are at least somewhat confident in the stability of the U.S. banking industry, including only five percent (5%) who are Very Confident.
Most Americans still expect at least one of the financially troubled countries in Europe to default on its debt and worry that Europe’s bad economy will ultimately have a major negative impact on the United States.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 64% of American Adults believe it is at least somewhat likely that one of the economically troubled European countries like Greece, Ireland, Portugal or Spain will default on its debt in the next five years, but that’s down from 73% a month ago.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Americans nationwide was conducted on November 10-11, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Most Americans continue to believe everything should be on the table when it comes to federal spending cuts.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Likely Voters say thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every program of the federal government as the nation searches for solutions to the federal budget crises.
Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that the $787 billion stimulus plan passed in early 2009 kept the national unemployment rate from being much worse than it is, but Americans believe overwhelmingly that the stimulus did not help the economy and did not reduce unemployment.
A plurality of American workers believes they’ll earn about the same amount of money a year from today, and most continue to classify themselves as middle class.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Employed Adults shows that 36% say they’ll be earning more money a year from today, while 12% think they’ll be earning less. Forty-five percent (45%) expect to be earning about the same amount of money a year from now. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update ? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 563 Employed Adults was conducted on November 4-5, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Though a plurality of American workers still believes staying at their current company offers the best opportunity for career advancement, fewer plan on staying at that company for the long term.
Several Republican presidential hopefuls are proposing major tax reform initiatives, but voters worry about how much money those proposals will generate.
You need to earn a little bit more these days for your fellow Americans to regard you as “wealthy.”
Though most Americans nationwide don’t believe their state will have to raise taxes on the middle class to pay all promised pension benefits to state workers, most would rather see a reduction in those benefits than pay higher taxes.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows, when given the choice, 56% would rather reduce promised benefits for public employees than pay higher taxes to ensure that all promised benefits are paid. Twenty-one percent (21%) would rather pay higher taxes than reduce public employee benefits. Another 23% aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Though three out of four Americans nationwide acknowledge that their state is in a budget crisis, they are evenly divided when it comes to cutting the salaries of state workers.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 41% favor a 10% pay cut for all state employees in order to help reduce spending in their state. Forty-two percent (42%) are opposed to the idea while 17% more are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The Rasmussen Employment Index, which measures workers’ perceptions of the labor market each month, slipped two points in October to 71.7.
The Employment Index is still up two points from August’ recent low of 69.3, but worker confidence is down five points from the beginning of 2011 and six points from last October. Generally speaking, a decrease in the Rasmussen Employment Index suggests the upcoming government reports on job creation will be worse than prior months.
(Want a free daily e-mail update ? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook .
The survey of 8,501 working Americans was conducted in October 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 1 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC . See methodology .
President Obama is pushing Congress to pass his plan to give $35 billion to state and local governments to prevent layoffs of teachers and first responders such as firemen, policemen and rescue squad workers. But most Americans think state and local governments should tighten their financial belts instead.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 22% of Americans think the federal government should give states and localities $35 billion to prevent such layoffs. Nearly three times as many adults (64%) believe that the best way for state and local governments to avoid these layoffs is to cut back on other spending. Fourteen percent (14%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Voters want a simpler and fairer tax system but give generally negative reviews to flat tax proposals.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of Likely U.S. Voters agree, however, that it’s a good idea to get rid of the existing income tax code and replace it with something simpler. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 16% disagree with the idea of a simpler tax code, while 23% are not sure.
An increasing number of Republican presidential candidates are now talking about returning the U.S. monetary system to the gold standard, but voters send mixed signals about such a move. Most like the idea, though, when they’re told it would reduce government control of the economy.
