Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Summary of Findings As the nation marked the ninth anniversary of the Sept. 11 terror attacks last week, many in the public and the media focused more on current tensions over Islam in America – most notably plans by a Florida pastor to burn copies of the Koran. Nearly two-in-ten (17%) say they followed the […]
When asked if they had a chance to read a daily newspaper yesterday, just 31% of Americans say they read a newspaper, the lowest percentage in two decades of Pew Research Center polling. When online news consumers are later probed separately if they happened to read anything on a newspaper website, the total rises to […]
Weeks before tax cuts passed during George W. Bush’s first term are set to expire, most of the public has heard either a lot (38%) or a little (43%) about the debate in Washington over how to handle these cuts. Much of this debate focuses on whether to extend all of the tax cuts or […]
First it was Egypt, then Bahrain and last week, Libya as the media focused on yet another country in the rolling and roiling season of Mideast revolution. Back at home, the faceoff between pro-union forces and Wisconsin’s Republican governor fueled coverage of the week’s second-biggest story.
Overview In many respects, there is a broad public consensus when it comes to the federal budget deficit: seven-in-ten say it is a major problem that must be addressed right away, and roughly two-thirds say that the best way to reduce the deficit is through a combination of cutting major government programs and increasing taxes. […]
Seven-in-ten say the deficit is a major problem that must be addressed right away, but this general consensus evaporates when concrete deficit reduction proposals are tested.
Summary of Findings While the media focused on the emotionally-charged debate over plans to build an Islamic mosque and cultural center near the World Trade Center site in New York City last week, the public continued to track the Gulf oil leak. About a third of the public (34%) says they followed news about the […]
Overview Since 9/11, there have been major terrorist attacks in Great Britain, Spain and other countries. And in the United States, there have been Orange Alerts and numerous near misses involving bombs smuggled aboard aircraft and in parked cars. But over the course of all of this, there is little evidence that close calls in […]
Over the past six months, the public’s assessments of the U.S. military effort in Afghanistan have changed very little. Currently, 47% of Americans say the military effort there is going very (8%) or fairly well (39%). These perceptions were similar in both June (48% very/fairly well) and July (49%). However, there has been a sharp […]