29% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction

Twenty-nine percent (29%) 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 February 2.

That’s down one point from the week before.  This finding has fluctuated between 29% and 30% every week since mid-December and is consistent with attitudes for much of the Obama presidency. A year ago, 39% said the country was heading in the right direction.

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

During President Obama’s first months in office, the number of voters who felt the country was headed in the right direction rose steadily to 40% in May 2009. In 2010 and 2011, confidence fell to the narrow range of 14% to 19%, levels similar to those measured in the final months of the George W. Bush administration. Optimism began rising again in mid-December 2011 to spike in the low 40s just before and after the president's November 6, 2012 reelection. Confidence in the nation's course ran in the high 20s and low 30s for most of 2013.

Sixty-four percent (64%) of voters now think the country is headed down the wrong track. That’s up one point from the previous week and the highest negative finding so far this year. Eighty percent (80%) felt the country was on the wrong track in early October, but 53% believed that at this time last year.

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The national telephone survey of 3,500 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports on January 20-26, 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 70% of voters not affiliated with either major political party still think the country is on the wrong track. Among Democrats, 51% believe the country is heading in the right direction, while 40% think it’s on the wrong track.

Fifty-eight percent (58%) of black voters feel the country is headed in the right direction.  Seventy-one percent (71%) of whites and 48% of other minority voters disagree.
 
 Fifty-eight percent (58%) of those under 40 feel the country’s on the wrong track, a view shared by two-thirds of older voters. 

Those who earn $100,000 or more a year are more confident in the nation's direction that those who earn less. 

Thirty-eight percent (38%) of government employees think the country is heading in the right direction, compared to 26% of those who work in the private sector.

Seventy-five percent (75%) of the Political Class say the country is on the right course, but just as many Mainstream voters (75%) think it is heading in the wrong direction. 

Republicans now lead Democrats by one point on the latest Generic Congressional Ballot. 

Voters continue to be pessimistic when asked if the new national health care law is likely to be fixed within the next year. Also, more voters than ever predict the law is likely to cost more than projected.

Most voters continue to favor raising the minimum wage but oppose extending benefits for the long-term unemployed.

The Rasmussen Employment Index which measures worker confidence rose less than half a point in January but is still at its highest level since June.

In reacting to the nation's economic woes, 60% think the government should cut spending, while 26% say it should increase spending. 

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