That’s the percentage of Americans who say they think that maintaining military strength is the best way to ensure peace – the lowest percentage in the 20-year history of Pew values surveys.
That’s the large percentage of Americans who think that environmental laws and regulations should be stricter. But when asked if “people should be willing to pay higher prices to protect the environment,” the number agreeing falls to 60%, down from 65% in 2003.
That’s the large percentage of Americans who, despite increasing support for government help for the poor, think that “poor people have become too dependent on government assistance programs.” Still, the number in agreement has declined from 79% in 1997.
That’s the percentage of U.S. adults who completely (30%) or mostly (16%) agree that “books that contain dangerous ideas should be banned from public libraries” — the lowest level of support in 20 years.
That’s the small share of the public that calls the government’s performance in providing medical care for soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan excellent (4%) or good (22%); 65% say it is either only fair (33%) or poor (32%).