Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Read our research on:
Overview The debate over raising the federal debt limit proved to be the public’s – and the media’s – top news story last week as the federal government neared a possible default and high level deficit-reduction talks produced no agreement. About three-in-ten (31%) say they followed the discussions about how to address the federal deficit […]
Amid persistent unemployment and slow economic growth, the public continues to take a very negative view of current national economic conditions. Just 8% call economic conditions excellent or good, while an overwhelming majority (91%) says things are either only fair (45%) or poor (46%). Economic ratings have been consistently downbeat for more than three years […]
The media were riveted last week by a made-for-headlines scandal involving one of the more combative members of Congress. The U.S. economy, the chaos in the Mideast and the emerging presidential race also generated significant attention, but they could not rival a story about the intersection of sex and politics.
It was a diverse news week that started off with the arrest of the IMF chief, but ended with the media focused on strained U.S.-Israel relations and the problems with the GOP presidential field. Meanwhile, attention to the aftermath of the bin Laden raid continued to diminish dramatically.
As the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks approaches, a comprehensive public opinion survey finds no indication of increased alienation or anger among Muslim Americans in response to concerns about home-grown Islamic terrorists, controversies about the building of mosques and other pressures that have been brought to bear on this high-profile minority group in recent years.
An overwhelming 81% of Americans say that purchasing a home is the best long-term investment a person can make.
As the 112th Congress approaches the 100-day mark, most say Republicans in the House of Representatives are not keeping their campaign promises and fewer than half say they are happy the Republicans won control of the House in last November’s election. Just a third (33%) say that that Republicans in the House are keeping the […]