The Obama administration now proposes to spend millions more on handouts, despite ample evidence of their perverse effects.
Shaun Donovan, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, says, "The single most important thing HUD does is provide rental assistance to America's most vulnerable families -- and the Obama administration is proposing bold steps to meet their needs." They always propose "bold steps."
Confidence in the auto bailouts is down to its lowest level in several months.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 43% of Likely U.S. Voters now say the bailouts of the auto industry were good for the United States, down nine points from 52% in December. Nearly as many (41%) say the bailouts were bad for the country. That's up 15 points from last month and the highest finding since August. Sixteen percent (16%) are not sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The national survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on January 5-6, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Following the “fiscal cliff” deal, voters trust Democrats more than Republicans to handle the economy for the first time in just over three-and-a-half years. Now Democrats are trusted more on 10 out of 15 key issues tracked by Rasmussen Reports. Republicans lead on two, and the parties are tied on three others.
A new national telephone survey finds that 47% of Likely U.S. Voters trust Democrats more when it comes to the economy, while 41% trust Republicans more. Twelve percent (12%) are not sure. A month ago, Republicans still had a slight 44% to 42% edge. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
Two national surveys of 1,000 Likely Voters each were conducted on January 3-4 & 5-6, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Americans nationwide show overwhelming support for requiring strict background checks, waiting periods and safety courses for those wishing to obtain a gun. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 86% of American Adults believe a strict background check should be required for anyone looking to buy a gun. Ten percent (10%) don’t favor this requirement. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Currently, an FBI background check is only required for those seeking to buy a gun from a commercial gun dealer who has a federal license.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on January 6-7, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Voters are much more critical now of the federal government’s response to the East Coast’s Hurricane Sandy but are generally satisfied with the amount of federal money going to the victims of the storm. Now, though, a plurality thinks state governments should bear most of the cleanup costs from a bad weather event.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 36% of Likely U.S. Voters now rate the way the federal government has responded to the areas affected by Sandy as good or excellent. That’s down 19 points from 55% in mid-November just after the storm.
Twenty-three percent (23%) now consider the government’s response to Sandy as poor, up from 15% two months ago. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on January 5-6, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
A decorated Vietnam vet, Chuck Hagel combines experience in war with skepticism over turning to military solutions where diplomacy might work. Add to those qualifications a tendency to speak his mind (after using it), and the former Republican senator from Nebraska seems uniquely placed to lead the Department of Defense in 2013.
Looks like Americans aren’t in any more of a new car mood than they were last year.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just 28% of American Adults think they are at least somewhat likely to buy or lease a car in the next year. Seventy-one percent (71%) say they aren’t likely to be in the market for a car this year. This includes just 11% who are Very Likely to buy or lease a car and 36% who are Not At All Likely to do so. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on January 4-5, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Democrats now hold a six-point lead over Republicans on the Generic Congressional Ballot for the week ending January 6, 2013.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Democrat in their district’s congressional race if the election were held today, while 38% would choose the Republican instead.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The national telephone survey of 3,000 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen Reports from January 2-6, 2013. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage point with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Chrysler Group finished 2012 with the automaker’s best sales since 2007, but it remains the least liked of Detroit’s Big Three. However, like most issues, opinions of the automakers differ according to partisan affiliation.
Ford, the one automaker who didn't take a federal bailout, remains the most popular. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 73% of American Adults have at least a somewhat favorable opinion of Ford, including 30% who view the automaker Very Favorably. Eighteen percent (18%) view Ford unfavorably, but that includes just five percent (5%) with a Very Unfavorable opinion. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on January 4-5, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Views of the Tea Party movement are at their lowest point ever, with voters for the first time evenly divided when asked to match the views of the average Tea Party member against those of the average member of Congress. Only eight percent (8%) now say they are members of the Tea Party, down from a high of 24% in April 2010 just after passage of the national health care law.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 30% of Likely U.S. Voters now have a favorable opinion of the Tea Party. Half (49%) of voters have an unfavorable view of the movement. Twenty-one percent (21%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on January 3-4, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Over the next year, we will probably see much controversy over the implementation of Obamacare. Health insurance is something that almost every adult has some acquaintance with, and there seem to be glitches aplenty in the legislation, much delay in issuing regulations and some possible changes resulting from litigation.
We're likely to see or hear less about the operations of the Dodd-Frank financial regulation legislation, passed four months after Obamacare. Most of us don't work at banks or financial institutions, which will have to grapple with its myriad provisions and the regulations to be issued thereunder, and we tend to toss out those disclosure forms our bank sends out.
Voters are more positive about President Obama’s pursuit of renewable energy sources than they have been since the first year of his presidency, and they feel just as strongly about how he’s handling traditional energy development as well.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 43% of Likely U.S. Voters now rate the president’s handling of the development of alternative energy sources like wind and solar power as good or excellent. Twenty-nine percent (29%) view his performance in this area as poor. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 29-30, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
The number of working Americans who now consider themselves middle class is at its highest level in nearly four years, while the number of working poor has fallen to an all-time low.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 69% of Employed Adults now describe themselves as middle class, while an additional 19% think of themselves as upper middle class. Only three percent (3%) consider themselves wealthy, and eight percent (8%) regard themselves as the working poor. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 630 Employed Adults was conducted on January 2-3, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Over half of voters now give President Obama positive marks for leadership, his highest ratings since the early months of his presidency.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters consider Obama a good or excellent leader, the highest finding since May 2009. This is up three points from last month, which was the first time the finding passed the 50% mark since June 2009.
One-out-of-three (33%) rate Obama as a poor leader, unchanged from December which marked the lowest finding in over three years. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 29-30, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
The week began with a “fiscal cliff” deal that surprised no one and earned mixed reviews. It ended with another mixed unemployment report that is unlikely to change the general concerns about the nation’s economy.
Voters are evenly divided in their views of the last-minute deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff” reached by President Obama and Congress. Most Democrats like it; most Republican don’t. Very few expect government spending to go down as a result.
Despite the continuing high unemployment rate, one-in-five employed Americans are now looking for work outside of their current company, even though a plurality says that staying with their present employer offers better opportunity for advancement.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 20% of Employed Adults are looking for work somewhere else, while 75% are not. Forty-seven percent (47%), though, say staying with their current company offers better opportunity for advancement than going to work elsewhere. Thirty percent (30%) disagree, and 23% are not sure.(To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 630 Employed Adults was conducted on January 2-3, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Voters have a slightly less favorable opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency these days and still tend to consider it a drag on the economy. But they’re less enthusiastic about the need for congressional approval of EPA actions.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 39% of Likely U.S. Voters now have a favorable opinion of the EPA. Thirty-four percent (34%) view the agency unfavorably. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 29-30, 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Voters are almost evenly divided as to which political party they trust more on gun control and job creation. They trust Democrats more on the environment and Republicans more in the areas of government spending and issues affecting small business.
These are the findings from Rasmussen Reports’ latest national trust-on-issues survey. We tested five new issues that in future surveys will be added to the 10 we have regularly asked about for several years. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on January 2, 2013 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
To my friends on the left: This one's for you.
Your grumbling that President Obama again gave away the store to Republicans is unwarranted. The deal to evade the fiscal cliff was no repeat of the debt-ceiling fiasco of 2011, when Obama famously bargained with himself. This time, he suppressed the urge to publicly consider raising the Medicare eligibility age. Meanwhile, he put off the clash over entitlements for another day.
In Washington, many are celebrating the deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Some, like The Washington Post, are hailing the "strong bipartisan votes (on) a big, contentious issue."
Outside of Washington, however, the reviews aren't nearly as strong.
