Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Overview A majority of Americans – 56% – say that federal courts fail to provide adequate limits on the telephone and internet data the government is collecting as part of its anti-terrorism efforts. An even larger percentage (70%) believes that the government uses this data for purposes other than investigating terrorism. And despite the insistence […]
Overview The Supreme Court’s favorability rating has edged below 50% for the first time in nearly three decades of Pew Research Center polling. Currently, 48% have a favorable opinion of the court while 38% have an unfavorable opinion. In March, before the court’s end-of-term decisions on same-sex marriage and the Voting Rights Act, 52% had […]
Republicans were 21 percentage points more likely than Democrats last fall to very closely follow news about the investigation into the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
Overview The public is divided over whether the leak of classified information about NSA phone and internet surveillance serves the public interest. But a majority says that former government contractor Edward Snowden should be criminally prosecuted. The new national survey, conducted June 12-16 by the Pew Research Center and USA TODAY among 1,512 adults, finds […]
There is broad partisan agreement that it would be unrealistic to deport all undocumented immigrants. Fully 80% of Democrats express this view, as do 78% of independents and 76% of Republicans. And majorities across partisan lines also agree that it would better for the economy if undocumented immigrants became legal workers. In addition, 81% of […]
The public prefers President Obama’s approaches to those of congressional Republicans on several of this year’s major policy issues. However, Obama’s advantages are narrower on gun policies and the budget deficit than on immigration and climate change. Overall, 45% say Obama has the better approach in dealing with gun policies, compared with 39% who favor […]
Overview While the issue of gun control remains divisive, there are clear areas of agreement when it comes to a number of gun policy proposals. Fully 85% of Americans favor making private gun sales and sales at gun shows subject to background checks, with comparable support from Republicans, Democrats and independents. Similarly, 80% support laws […]
Overview The public is divided over last week’s Supreme Court rulings on same-sex marriage: 45% approve of the court’s decisions, while 40% disapprove. The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center conducted June 27-30 among 1,003 adults, finds that most Americans are aware of the ruling and its implications. Two-thirds (66%) know that the […]
Overview Favorable opinions of both business corporations and labor unions have rebounded from record lows reached in the summer of 2011. Overall, more Americans now hold a favorable (55%) than an unfavorable (39%) view of business corporations; two years ago, opinion was reversed (52% unfavorable, 38% favorable). Similarly, views of labor unions have returned to […]