IRS Among Least-Popular Federal Agencies
Four in 10 Americans say they have an unfavorable view of the IRS.
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Drew DeSilver
Senior Writer/Editor
Drew DeSilver is a senior writer at Pew Research Center.
Publications
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IRS among least-popular federal agencies
The Internal Revenue Service, now under intense scrutiny for singling out conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status for special review, is one of the least-popular federal agencies — but not quite at the bottom. In a 2010 Pew Research survey, 47% of people said they had a “very” or “mostly” favorable opinion of the IRS. That […]
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The most popular areas of government are shedding the most workers
Popularity is no protection against budget cuts: The parts of government that Americans like the most — state, cities and counties, and the U.S. Postal Service — are also the ones shedding workers the fastest. The most recent nonfarm payroll figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the public sector continues to be a drag on […]
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In time for graduation season, a look at student debt
College is a pretty pricey proposition, even after grants and scholarships are factored in. And the millions of students graduating this spring will soon learn just how expensive their degrees were when they start getting student-loan bills. As a Pew Research Center analysis noted last year, nearly one in five U.S. households (19%) owed money […]
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5 facts about moms
52.9% of women aged 15-44, or about 32.5 million, were mothers in 2010, according to the Census Bureau. The U.S. birth rate dipped in 2011 to the lowest ever recorded, led by a plunge in births to immigrant women since the onset of the Great Recession. Today’s mothers have more education than ever before, according […]
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Should you invest in stocks or housing for the long term? It depends.
With the stock market hitting new highs and home prices marking their strongest gains since before the bubble burst, it’s starting to feel like a real economic recovery. But which is the better investment over time? That depends largely on your definition of “long term.” As the accompanying charts show, since the formal end of the […]
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Half of Parents with Young Children Read to Them Every Day
Half of all parents with children under 12 say they read to their child every day.
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Seven in 10 Young Adults Favor Same-Sex Marriage
Seven in 10 Americans born after 1980 believe gay men and lesbians should be able to marry legally.
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How Mexicans in the United States see their identity
Cinco de Mayo, which comes this Sunday, has in the past few decades become widely celebrated in the United States, and not just among the 33.7 million U.S. residents of Mexican origin. (It’s not, as sometimes thought, Mexico’s Independence Day — that’s Sept. 16. Rather, Cinco de Mayo commemorates the 1862 victory of Mexican forces […]
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On eve of tight election, most Malaysians satisfied overall
As Malaysians head to the polls this Sunday in what the BBC calls the nation’s “most hotly contested general election,” most report feeling satisfied with the direction of their country. The Barisan Nasional (National Front) coalition, along with its predecessor the Alliance Party, has been Malaysia’s dominant political force since independence in 1957. But BN’s hold slipped […]