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25% Say U.S. Heading in the Right Direction

Twenty-five percent (25%) of Likely U.S. Voters think the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the week ending September 21.

The number who say the country is heading in the right direction is down three points from the previous week and has been below 30% most weeks during the past year. 

Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters now believe the nation is heading down the wrong track. That's up one point from the previous survey. 

A year ago at this time, 28% said the country was heading in the right direction, while 65% thought it was going down the wrong track. Early last October during the partial federal government shutdown, confidence in the country’s course fell to 13%, the lowest finding in five years, with 80% who said the country was on the wrong track.

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The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on September 15-21, 2014. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Eighty-seven percent (87%) of Republicans and 71% of voters not affiliated with either major political party think the country is on the wrong track. Democrats are almost evenly divided.

A plurality (48%) of blacks thinks the country is headed in the right direction. Seventy-two percent (72%) of whites and 55% of other minority voters think the country is headed in the wrong direction. 

Sixty percent (60%) of the Political Class believe the country is headed in the right direction, but 75% of Mainstream voters disagree. 

Voters increasingly believe the U.S. economy is unfair to small business owners and those willing to work hard

Half of voters still think the U.S. health care system will get worse under Obamacare.

Americans continue to feel that buying a home is a family’s best investment, but they are closely divided over whether now is the opportune time for someone in their area to sell their house.

President Obama is attending a United Nations-sponsored summit meeting this week that is focused on reaching an international agreement to fight global warming. Thirty-five percent (35%) of Americans believe the world is headed toward an irreversible catastrophe if the UN fails to deal with global warming.

Americans remain worried about inflation and expect to be paying more for groceries next year. Just 50% remain confident in the banking industry.

Crosstabs and historical data are available to Platinum Members only.

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The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on September 15-21, 2014. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

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