Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Introduction and Summary A unique survey research experiment finds that public opinion polls, as they are typically conducted, do not understate conservative opinions or support for the Republican Party. Conservative critics of the polls have charged that these surveys are politically biased. A methodological study by the Pew Research Center finds little evidence of this, […]
Public satisfaction with the state of the nation has lifted out of the doldrums of the early 1990s, with 46% today saying they are satisfied. While this is up 20% points or more from the period 1993 through mid-1996, half of all Americans (50%) still describe themselves as dissatisfied with the way things are going. […]
But Still, Show Me Despite positive feelings about the legislation, Americans continue to doubt that the budget will actually be balanced by the year 2002. Only 16% think the budget will be balanced, 77% think it will not be — down slightly from 85% in May. Assuming the budget is balanced, the public is divided […]
Survey Findings An analysis of public attentiveness to more than 500 news stories over the last ten years confirms that the American public pays relatively little attention to many of the serious news stories of the day. The major exceptions to this rule are stories dealing with natural and man-made disasters and U.S. military actions. […]
About 12% of Americans go online to get information on current events, public issues and politics. On average, one third of these said they go online for news as many as three days a week. This level of online use has remained fairly stable across six studies completed by the Center this year. Compared to […]
Fewer Health Care Complaints Americans were marginally more satisfied with “the way things are going in the country today” than six months ago, 28% compared to 23%. The percentage of satisfied respondents is the highest since January 1993, amid the inauguration of the new president. In early March 1996 the Gallup poll found an even […]