Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World

Political Issues


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    Public Divided on Medicare Reforms

    Survey Findings Pew’s latest News Interest Index finds that a little bit of news about Medicare reform travels a long way, while a lot of news about tax relief is mostly greeted with shrugs and disbelief. Fewer than four in ten Americans (38%) paid close attention to the ongoing Washington debate about how to cut […]

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    Americans Only a Little Better Off, But Much Less Anxious

    Introduction and Summary Psychologically, Americans have turned an important corner recently. They have become much less concerned about meeting major financial commitments, even though they say their material conditions have not dramatically improved. Heightened worries about affording health care, saving for retirement, or saving for a child’s college education have fallen off significantly in recent […]

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    The Optimism Gap Grows

    Introduction and Summary As 1996 drew to a close Americans were evaluating their lives much the way they have over the past four decades during good economic times. Most feel they have made personal progress over the past five years, and most are optimistic about the future. Financial stability, good health and a strong family […]

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    Public Apathetic about Nuclear Terrorism

    Summary Most Americans acknowledge the fact that terrorists could strike a U.S. city with a nuclear, chemical or biological weapon, yet few worry about the possibility, according to the findings of a recent nationwide Pew Research Center survey. The poll confirms the lack of public engagement on this issue experienced by Senator Richard Lugar, who […]

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    Medicare Debate Gets more attention than Bosnia, Dole on Hollywood, and Even OJ

    Report Summary More Americans are paying attention to Bosnia these days than at anytime since the bloody war in former Yugoslavia broke out. But Bosnia, Bob Dole’s attack on Hollywood, and even O.J. Simpson take a back seat to public attentiveness to news about proposals to scale back spending on Medicare. And the attention to […]

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    Media Coverage of Health Care Reform

    Summary of Findings This joint project of the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press, the Kaiser Family Foundation and Columbia Journalism Review tracked the volume and tone of press coverage of the health care debate from September of 1993 through November of 1994. This final report summarizes the broadest findings of the […]

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    Strong Support for Minimum Wage Hike and Preserving Entitlements

    Report Summary While the Contract for America is getting all the play in Washington these days, there is still a lot of New Deal thinking in the rest of the country. No fewer than 79% of respondents in the latest Times Mirror Center survey say they approve of Bill Clinton’s proposal to increase the minimum […]

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    Gloomy Doctors and “Scared Public” Spurn Clinton Plan But Favor Reform Principles

    Summary of Findings Over the past 12 months Americans and their physicians have been frightened by the health care reform debate, and have soured on the “Clinton plan”. But both the public and medical doctors continue to strongly support universal coverage as the core element of the changes they seek in the nation’s health care […]

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    Economic Recovery Has Little Impact on American Mood

    Report Summary Despite signs of an economic turn around, Americans remain highly dissatisfied with the state of the nation, financially burdened and fearful about their futures. From an economic point of view, continued discontent with earning power of American jobs is inhibiting celebration of the economic recovery. From a political one, preoccupation with Whitewater is […]