Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Obama’s visit to India on Republic Day is expected to usher in a new, positive era in India-U.S. relations — especially at a time when a majority of Indians have a favorable view of the United States and a majority of Americans express a positive opinion of India.
Income inequality will be a key topic of discussion for economic leaders meeting in Davos. Pew Research Center surveys also have shown that income inequality is a global cause for concern.
As the immediate Republican reaction to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address demonstrates, expectations of bipartisan cooperation exist against a backdrop of continuing partisan gridlock in the United States, raising questions about the future course of U.S. foreign policy.
Americans support strategic and economic engagement with the rest of the world, but within limits, and they remain divided on many of these issues along partisan lines, whatever their party leaders in Washington say.
The healthcare industry, food and drink establishments and temp services have driven most of the jobs growth since Barack Obama took office nearly six years ago.
Almost one-in-five members of the House and Senate are a racial or ethnic minority, making the 114th Congress the most diverse in history. However, Congress remains disproportionately white when compared with the U.S. population, which has grown increasingly diverse in recent decades.
Some political observers predict that Obama will be using his veto pen a lot more in his last two years in office than he did in the first six. Recent history indicates that presidents do veto more bills when both houses of Congress are controlled by the opposing party.
Trade is shaping up as a major issue on the 2015 legislative agenda, with Congressional leaders and Obama suggesting bilateral cooperation on U.S. trade agendas. Indeed, a Pew Research Center survey suggests such bipartisan efforts also could find public support.
The new GOP-controlled Congress takes office at a time when the American public sees partisan rifts in the country getting worse.
Pew Research’s annual Global Attitudes surveys starts by asking respondents how they would describe their day. A median of nearly two-thirds (65%) across 44 countries surveyed in spring 2014 responded that they were having a typical day.
