38% Expect Economy to Be Stronger in a Year, 39% Say Weaker
Hope for a stronger economy has declined in recent months, with pessimism up sharply from a year ago.
General Business
Most Recent Releases
January 5, 2010
January 1, 2010
50% Expect U.S. Will Be In Recession At End of 2010
Fifty percent (50%) of Americans believe the country will still be in recession at the end of 2010, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
December 22, 2009
28% Using Postal Service Less This Holiday Season
Twenty-eight percent (28%) of Americans say they are using the U.S. Postal Service less this holiday season than in past years, but adults overwhelmingly believe there will still be a need for the Postal Service 10 years from now.
December 15, 2009
52% Oppose Further Regulation of U.S. Financial System
Americans remain opposed to further government regulation of the U.S. financial system, even as President Obama and congressional Democrats move closer to passage of legislation that will give the government more oversight than ever.
December 8, 2009
76% Prefer Free Market Economy
Support for a free market economy remains strong despite the extended recession and last fall’s Wall Street meltdown.
December 4, 2009
79% Now Favor Auditing the Fed
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday voiced his opposition to legislation calling for regular audits of the Fed’s monetary policies, but 79% of Americans think auditing the Fed is a good idea.
December 2, 2009
Just 21% Favor Bernanke’s Reappointment As Fed Chairman
Ben Bernanke begins the formal process tomorrow for confirmation to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, but 41% of Americans think President Obama should name someone new to the post.
November 20, 2009
42% Rate Geithner’s Performance As Poor
Forty-two percent (42%) of Americans say Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has done a poor job handling the credit crisis and federal bailout programs, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
October 23, 2009
Most Americans Support Caps on Bank Overdraft Fees But Say Frequent Offenders Should Pay More
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of Americans say the federal government should place limits on how much banks charge when customers overdraw their bank accounts, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
October 20, 2009
81% Still Concerned About Inflation
Despite reports of slowing inflation from Federal Reserve policymakers, Americans remain highly concerned about the issue and lack confidence in the Fed to keep inflation under control.
October 19, 2009
50% Still Lack Confidence In U.S. Banks
One-out-of-two Americans (50%) still lack confidence in the U.S. banking system, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
October 19, 2009
President Gets Mixed Reviews for Plan on Sending $250 to All Seniors
Time Magazine refers to it as the Obama administration's "stealth stimulus," pumping more government money into the economy without packaging it as a politically unpopular second economic stimulus plan. One of the new ideas is a proposed one-time $250 payment to seniors who for the first time in years won't be getting a cost of living increase in their Social Security checks because inflation's down.
October 15, 2009
56% Favor State Lotteries as Revenue Source
Most Americans like state lotteries and think they’re one thing that state governments should run them rather than the private sector.
October 1, 2009
Americans Less Sure About Long-Term Strength of Economy
Forty-nine percent (49%) of American adults now say that the U.S. economy will be stronger in five years than it is today. That figure is down from 58% in July and 64% in March.
September 21, 2009
Americans Now View Congress As Least Respected Job
With the health care debate raging in Washington, D.C., there’s one change Americans clearly believe in: Members of Congress have now surpassed corporate CEOs to hold the least favorably regarded profession in the country.
September 17, 2009
53% Oppose More Regulation of U.S. Financial System
President Obama in a speech on Wall Street this week repeated his call for greater oversight of the U.S. financial system, but opposition to more government regulation in that area of the economy has now risen to 53%.
August 6, 2009
Just 36% Confident Stimulus Money Will Be Used for Roads and Bridges
Members of Congress have expressed concern that economic stimulus funds are not being properly directed to major infrastructure projects, and it seems most Americans also lack confidence that the money will be correctly used.
July 29, 2009
75% Favor Auditing The Fed
So much for the ongoing secrecy of the nation’s independent central banking system. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 75% of Americans favor auditing the Federal Reserve and making the results available to the public.
July 28, 2009
54% Expect Interest Rates To Rise In Next Year
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans now say interest rates will be higher a year from now, a 20-point jump from April.
July 28, 2009
51% Lack Confidence In U.S. Banking System
Confidence in the U.S. banking system has fallen again despite billions in federal bailout funds and record profits being declared by two of Wall Street’s top financial firms.
