Americans’ Views of Economic Inequality, Its Causes and Who Should Fix It
Since 2019, a growing share among those who say there’s too much inequality think the economic system needs to be completely rebuilt to address it.
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Many Americans Are Struggling to Afford Basic Necessities
44% of Americans had trouble paying for a basic necessity in the past year, with lower-income adults hit hardest.
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French Adults Stand Out for Their Economic Pessimism
Amid protests, 85% of French adults say their economy is bad, a higher share than in any of 17 other high-income countries surveyed.
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From cash to credit, how Americans’ payment methods have changed in the past decade
Since 2015, the share of Americans who say they use cash for all or almost all of their purchases in a typical week has fallen by half, from 24% to 12%.
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Prediction markets’ trading volume doubled between May and July, largely driven by sports
Prediction market trading on Kalshi and Polymarket doubled from May to July, mostly due to a large uptick in sports trading.
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Latinos Are Split on Whether the American Dream Is Achievable
Far more Latinos say their standard of living is better than their parents’ (57%), rather than worse (23%). More also say their children’s standard of living will be better than their own (53%) as opposed to worse (14%).
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Fewer Americans use cash today than a decade ago, but many still carry it
Today, 42% of U.S. adults say they don’t use cash for any purchases in a typical week. This is up from 24% in 2015.
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Is teen summer employment in the U.S. rebounding after a long fade?
Only 35.5% of U.S. teens ages 16 to 19 worked this summer, up slightly from 2025 but far below the more than half who worked most summers before 2000.
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Young adults in the U.S. are increasingly wary of AI, concerned it will take jobs
About half of Americans say they’re more concerned than excited about AI, and young adults’ concern is rising.
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As the 2026 Midterms Approach, Economy Is Front and Center
Americans are now almost evenly split over which party they most agree with on economic policies: 37% say the Democrats, while 36% say the GOP.
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What we know about the typical Polymarket user
The typical Polymarket user placed a total of 46 trades across 10 active trading days during our study period.
