Americans take a dim view of the nation’s future, look more positively at the past
When Americans look ahead to 2050, they see a country that in many respects will be worse than it is today.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Partisanship & Issues
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In Divided Washington, Americans Have Highly Negative Views of Both Parties’ Leaders
Americans express highly negative views of President Joe Biden, congressional leadership in both parties and Congress more broadly. Views of the economy remain overwhelmingly negative, and there has been a sharp rise in the share who say the country cannot solve many of its important problems.
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Top tax frustrations for Americans: The feeling that some corporations, wealthy people don’t pay fair share
61% of adults now say that the feeling that some corporations don’t pay their fair share bothers them a lot. 60% say this about some wealthy people.
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Economy Remains the Public’s Top Policy Priority; COVID-19 Concerns Decline Again
Americans now see reducing the budget deficit as a higher priority for the president and Congress to address than in recent years. But strengthening the economy continues to be the public’s top policy priority.
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Before release of video showing Tyre Nichols’ beating, public views of police conduct had improved modestly
Prior to the Tyre Nichols video release, views of police conduct in the U.S. had improved in three of four measures, with crime an exception.
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Republicans Leery of Compromise With Biden; Majority Want GOP To Focus on Investigations
While 64% of Republicans say GOP congressional leaders should “stand up” to Biden on matters important to their party’s voters, Democrats are more likely to say they would support efforts by leaders to find common ground.
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Americans differ by party, ideology over the impact of social media on U.S. democracy
74% of Republicans say social media has been more of a bad thing for U.S. democracy, compared with a smaller majority of Democrats (57%).
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K-12 parents differ by party in how frequently they discuss certain national issues with their children
A quarter of U.S. parents of K-12 students say racism or racial inequality comes up in conversation with their children very or fairly often.
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Public Has Modest Expectations for Washington’s Return to Divided Government
Most U.S. adults say President Joe Biden (65%) and Republican leaders in Congress (61%) will be unsuccessful getting their agendas enacted in the next two years; only about a third say the president and GOP leaders will be successful. Republicans are less confident than Democrats in midterm vote counts – but more confident than they were after the 2020 election.
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Anti-corporate sentiment in U.S. is now widespread in both parties
The U.S. public’s views of banks and other financial institutions, as well as large corporations, have become much more negative recently.
