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                            December 27, 201160% See Extending Social Security Payroll Tax Cut for Full Year As Good for Economy
Most voters agree that extending a 2% cut in the Social Security payroll tax for all of 2012 will be beneficial for the economy but won’t significantly impact their financial plans for the year. Congress signed off on a two-month extension of the tax cut last week but are hoping to extend it for all of 2012 when they reconvene after the holiday.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Likely U.S. Voters believe that if the payroll tax cut is extended for the full year of 2012, it will help the economy at least a little. That includes 22% who think it will help the economy a lot. Only 10% feel extending the tax cut will hurt the economy, with just four percent (4%) who think it will hurt a lot. (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 Likely Voters was conducted on December 26, 2011 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.
December 27, 2011Middle Class Aided Its Own Decline By Froma Harrop
This was the Year of the Middle Class -- as in, its falling incomes, loss of job security and anger. The global economic forces fueling the decline, such as foreign competition and computers, have been well reported. But what about cultural factors? Is the middle class going down partly because it stopped acting middle class?

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                            December 27, 201160% Still See Government As The Problem, Political Class Disagrees
Political spats and elections come and go, but one thing most voters still agree on is that government is not the solution to their problems. Not surprisingly, the Political Class disagrees.
Ronald Reagan said it in his first inaugural address in January 1981: “Government is not the solution to our problem; government is the problem,” and a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Likely U.S. Voters agree with the iconic president. Only 29% disagree with Reagan’s assessment, while 11% are undecided.
December 26, 2011Generic Ballot: Republicans 43%, Democrats 40%
For the third straight week, Republicans hold a three-point edge over Democrats on the Generic Congressional Ballot.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey for the short holiday week ending Thursday, December 22, finds that 43% of Likely U.S. Voters would vote for the Republican in their district’s congressional race if the election were held today, while 40% would choose the Democrat instead.

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                            December 26, 201129% Say Home Worth Less Than When They Bought It
Most homeowners are confident they know what their home is worth, and more of them than ever say it's worth less now than when they bought it.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of homeowners shows that 52% believe their home is worth more than what they paid when they purchased it.
(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 690 U.S. Homeowners was conducted on December 19-20, 2011 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.

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                            December 26, 2011To Help Economy, Voters Want Government To Do More Cutting
A growing number of voters want the government to do more in response to the ailing economy. What they’re looking for, however, is for government to shrink itself rather than expand its presence in the economy.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 42% of Likely U.S. Voters worry more that the federal government will do too much rather than not enough in reacting to the nation’s economic problems.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 22, 2011 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.
December 26, 2011Obama Succeeds Abroad When He Follows Bush, Clinton By Michael Barone
The world usually turns out to work differently from what American presidents expected when they were campaigning.
Franklin Roosevelt campaigned on domestic issues in 1932 and ran a more isolationist foreign policy for his first years in office than any of the Republican presidents elected in the 1920s. But he became aware of the threat that Adolf Hitler posed earlier than most, and changed course accordingly.
December 26, 201153% Call for Repeal of Health Care Law
Most voters still want to repeal the national health care law, even though they tend to believe the law won’t force them to change their own health insurance coverage.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters at least somewhat favor repeal of the health care law passed by Congress in March 2010, while 35% at least somewhat oppose repeal. The intensity remains on the side of the law’s opponents since these findings include 42% who Strongly Favor repeal versus 26% who are Strongly Opposed. (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 10-11, 2011 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.

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                            December 25, 2011Christmas Ranks First Among Holidays
For most adults, Christmas continues to be America's most important holiday.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 67% of American Adults consider Christmas one of the nation’s most important holidays, showing little change from last year and consistent with surveys stretching back to December 2006. Only six percent (6%) see Christmas as one of the least important holidays, while 24% rate it somewhere in between.
(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 December 21-22, 2011 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.
December 24, 2011What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 24, 2011
The vast majority of Americans celebrate tomorrow as Christmas, and most of those folks recognize the day as a celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ.  It’s a time to pause momentarily even as the news hurtles on in places as remote as North Korea and as near as Iowa where the race for the presidency gathers steam.
For a sizable number of adults, the last couple days have been panic time. As of Friday morning, 38% hadn’t finished their holiday shopping, and 18% hadn’t even started yet. Still, there’d been a lot of shopping going since Monday when 57% hadn’t finished and 26% had yet to start. 
More toys may have been on the shopping list, too. Just 41% of American Adults are even somewhat concerned about the safety of most toys being sold this holiday season, down from 51% a year ago. 
The number of adults who expect to travel away from home during the holiday season has slowly increased in recent years, but half still say the current economy makes them less likely to do so.

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                            December 24, 201174% Believe Jesus Was Son of God
Most adults who will be celebrating Christmas tomorrow will do so as a religious holiday, and an overwhelming majority believes in the divinity of Jesus Christ.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 90% will be celebrating Christmas in their family. Of those adults, 74% will be celebrating Christmas as a religious holiday while 22% will be observing it as a secular one. (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 December 17-18, 2011 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.
December 23, 2011Election 2012:  Obama 48%, Bachmann 35%
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the frontrunner in Iowa and New Hampshire, now trails President Obama in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters finds Obama earning 44% support to Romney’s 41%.  Seven percent (7%) prefer some other candidate, while eight percent (8%) are not sure.

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                            December 23, 201112% See Change of Leadership in North Korea As Good for the United States
Voters are not optimistic about the change in leadership in communist North Korea, and many are concerned that it will lead to war between North Korea and South Korea.  Voters doubt that the change in leadership will produce major changes in North Korea. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 14% of Likely Voters think it is even somewhat likely that North Korea will become a free, democratic and peaceful nation over the next few years.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 20-21, 2011 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.

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                            December 23, 201138% Haven’t Finished Their Holiday Shopping; 18% Still Haven’t Started
Panic time? Thirty-eight percent (38%) of American Adults haven’t finished their holiday shopping with Christmas coming on Sunday, and 18% haven’t even started yet, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
(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 nationwide was conducted on December 21-22, 2011 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.
December 23, 2011'Cool' Cities Are Not Necessarily Warm By Froma Harrop
The soft economy has left lots of Americans in place, whether they want to be or not. That would include the most mobile group, young people. But to the extent that adults ages 25 to 34 are still moving, their preferred destinations seem to be "cool cities," according to U.S. Census Bureau figures. What are the so-called cool cities? Denver, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, Raleigh, Austin, Washington, D.C., and Portland, Ore., among others.

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                            December 22, 201160% Say U.S. Society Fair and Decent, 28% Disagree
Most voters continue to believe U.S. society is fair and decent but only a third think that President Obama agrees. 
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Likely Voters think society in this country is fair and decent. Twenty-eight percent (28%) disagree and feel American society is unfair and discriminatory.  Another 12% are not sure.

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                            December 22, 2011One-in-Four Americans Prefers Reading on Electronic Device
The number of Americans that prefers to read a book on an electronic reading device has tripled from earlier this year, but most still prefer a traditional book.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 27% have now used a Kindle or a similar electronic book-reading device.
(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 American Adults nationwide was conducted on December 15-16, 2011 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.
December 22, 2011Election 2012:  Obama 44%, Romney 41%
Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, the frontrunner in Iowa and New Hampshire, now trails President Obama in a hypothetical Election 2012 matchup.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely Voters finds Obama earning 44% support to Romney’s 41%.  Seven percent (7%) prefer some other candidate, while eight percent (8%) are not sure.

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                            December 22, 2011Just 44% Believe Their Home Worth More Than Mortgage
Home ownership used to be the cornerstone of middle class financial planning and equity in a home is typically a family’s biggest asset. But most homeowners now doubt they have any equity value in their home.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. homeowners shows that just 44% believe their home is worth more than the amount they still owe on their mortgage.
(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 690 U.S. Homeowners was conducted on December 19-20, 2011 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.
December 22, 2011Paul Ryan’s Old-Fashioned American Vision By Lawrence Kudlow
When you think of Republican congressman Paul Ryan, terms like earnest, serious, and important come to mind. So does the term old-fashioned. Ryan comes from an old-fashioned place, the blue-collar town of Janesville, Wisconsin. He cherishes the old-fashioned values of a faithful family man. He even looks old-fashioned, with his white shirts and striped ties. And he uses old-fashioned argument skills, persuasively weaving big-picture themes with the numbers that back them up.