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30% Say U.S. is Heading in Right Direction

Thirty percent (30%) 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 April 6.

This finding is up two points from 28% the previous week. The number who say the country is heading in the right direction has remained in the narrow range of 28% to 30% every week but one since mid-December.

Early last October during the federal government shutdown, confidence in the country’s course fell to 13%, the lowest finding in five years.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of voters now think the country is headed down the wrong track. That’s down two points from the previous week. Eighty percent (80%) felt the country was on the wrong track in early October.

A year ago, 34% said the country is heading in the right direction; 59% disagreed.

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The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on March 31-April 6, 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 69% of voters not affiliated with either major political party think the country is on the wrong track. Among Democrats, 54% believe the country is heading in the right direction, while 36% think it is on the wrong track.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of black voters think the country is headed in the right direction. Just 24% of whites and 39% of other minority voters agree.

Eighty-six percent (86%) of conservative voters and 56% of moderates believe the country is headed down the wrong track.  Fifty-five percent (55%) of liberal voters believe it is heading in the right direction.

Seventy-six percent (76%) of the Political Class believe the country is heading in the right direction, but 72% of Mainstream voters feel it is headed in the wrong direction.

Democrats hold a one-point lead over Republicans on the latest Generic Congressional Ballot.

Fifty-three percent (53%) of voters now believe the quality of health care will get worse under Obamacare, the highest level of pessimism since mid-March 2011.

Forty-two percent (42%) of working Americans think they will be earning more a year from now.

Forty percent (40%) believe that they have a better opportunity for career advancement by staying within their current company. Thirty-five percent (35%) see more opportunity by going to work for someone else. 

Thirty-two percent (32%) believe the United States has a system of free market capitalism, while just as many (31%) say it is a system of crony capitalism.

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The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on March 31-April 6, 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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