State of the Nation

Unemployment remained at 9.6% in August (that is the last report of the unemployment number before the election by the Bureau of Labor Statistics). The most recent Gallup survey showed an unemployment rate of 10.1%. The number unemployed and underemployed remains at 18.6%.

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32% believe the economy will get better in the next 12 months, while 24% think it will get worse. [NBC/WSJ 9/10]

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Public opinion as to whether the country is headed in the right direction (RD) or is on the wrong track (WT) has not changed much since March.

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The American public could care less what experts say about whether the recession is over. They know whether or not it is over, and from their perspective it is not over. In the latest NBC/WSJ survey (9/10), respondents were told that a panel of experts declared that the recession “officially” ended in June 2009. When asked their opinion of whether it was over, 70% of those surveyed said the country is still in recession.

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How much trust do you have in government? Here is how Americans responded when asked how much trust or confidence they had in various elements of the governmental enterprise. The percentages below reflect those who said “a great deal” or “fair amount.”

-- 70% Local government
-- 69% American people as a whole
-- 66% Federal judicial branch headed by Supreme Court
-- 52% State government
-- 49% Federal executive branch headed by President
-- 47% Men and women in political life
-- 43% Mass media
-- 36% Federal legislative branch, House and Senate

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When it comes to the U.S. government:

-- 59% think the government has too much power; only 8% say it has too little. In 2003, 39% held the view that the government has too much power.

-- 49% say there is too much government regulation, while 27% think there has been too little.

-- 46% believe that the Federal government poses an immediate threat to the rights and freedoms of ordinary individuals. This is up from 30% in 2003.

Americans are equally divided – 18% to 19% as to whether the government should do only those things described as “basic government functions” or if it should do everything it can “to try and improve the lives of its citizens.” 28% of Republicans opt for only basic government services, while 29% of Democrats support the do-everything position.

It is no surprise that 69% have great confidence in the American people, but only 47% have confidence in the men and women running for public office.

Meanwhile, 15% think the Federal government is not doing enough to create jobs and reduce unemployment. 13% think it is not doing enough to secure our borders and address immigration. 12% think the government is not doing enough to focus on the country and its people’s problems. [Gallup 9 & 10/10]

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For the 2nd year in a row, Social Security recipients will not get a cost of living increase.

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26.3% of Americans have some form of Federal government-provided health care – Medicare, Medicaid, or Military/Veterans benefits. This is an increase from the 22.5% who reported using that form of healthcare in January 2008. 42% of respondents believe that the Federal government should have total responsibility for making certain that “all Americans have adequate healthcare.” 20% say that the government should have no responsibility. [Gallup 10/10]

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The Congress will soon take up the question of whether to extend the tax “cuts” that are scheduled to expire at the end of 2010. 49% think the tax breaks should end, while 45% think they should not end. On the narrower question of whether the tax cuts should be extended for those making more than $250,000 per year, considering that to extend them will cost 700 billion dollars over the next 10 years, Americans split 47%-47% on whether the cuts should be kept in place. [NBC/WSJ 9/10]

48% of the nation’s pre-tax income goes to the top 10% of households. The top 10% represents households earning more than $110,000 per year. [WP 10/6/10]

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By 57% to 39% Americans want their Member of Congress “to fight for more government spending in their districts in order to create jobs” rather than “fight government spending.” [WP/Kaiser]

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Approval of the Supreme Court is down to 51% from 62% in 2000. [Gallup 10/10]

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The Democratic Party has a positive rating of 37%, while the Republican Party is rated at 31% on that scale. On the down-side, the Democrats are rated negatively by 42% and the Republicans 43%. [NBC/WSJ 9/10]

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