December 11, 2015 12:00 PM
State of the Nation
69% of respondents say that the country is on the wrong track. 23% say the country is on the right track. This is the highest “wrong track” number found in some 20 surveys taken by the Bloomberg Poll since September 2009. [Bloomberg Politics Poll 11/17/15]CBS/NYT had a slightly more positive result finding, 33% who say the country is headed in the right direction, while 63% say it is on the wrong track. [CBS/NYT 11/10/15]
The official BLS seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for November 2015 is 5%, the same as October. If one takes into account the total unemployed + those marginally attached to the labor force + those working part-time who want full-time work, the rate is 9.9%. This number is lower than the unemployment number in October 2009, which was 10.2% (data based on those 16 years of age and older).
In the last week of November, Gallup found an unadjusted unemployment rate of 5.6%. It also found an under-employment rate (unemployed +those working part-time but wanting full time) of 14.4%. [This is based on those 18 years of age and older.]
There are 8.6 million single mothers and 2.4 million single fathers in the United States. This compares to 1970 when there were 3 million single mothers and 300,000 single fathers in this country. Roughly 4 in 10 babies born in the U.S. are born to unmarried mothers. This is up from 1 in 10 in 1970. WP 12/2/15]
355 or 4?
The events in San Bernardino represent the 355th mass shooting in the United States in 2015. So far this year 462 people have been killed in these shootings and 1,314 people have been injured. This data is based on a definition that describes a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are killed or injured. The data was compiled by a group of private organizations. It is the data used by many major media organizations. [NPR 12/2/15]However, it turns out that there is another point of view, a point of view that claims there have been only 4 mass shootings this year. This definition is based on an apparent FBI policy that requires that at least 4 people be killed before an incident can be classified as a mass killing. This is the standard used by the Congressional Research Service.
58% of Americans -- including 79% of Democrats, 41% of Republicans, and 53% of Independents -- believe that the laws governing the sale of firearms should be made more strict.
92% favor requiring background checks on all potential gun buyers; this even includes 87% of Republicans. [CBS/NYT 10/25/15]
86% of respondents favor a universal background check for all gun purchases in the U.S., using a centralized database across all 50 States. However, if such a law was passed, 53% of Americans think it would do little or nothing to reduce the number of mass shootings. Only 19% believe it would have a great deal of effect in reducing mass shootings. [Gallop 10/11/15]
71% of all respondents, including 60% of Democrats, would oppose a ban on the sale of all handguns, except those that are issued to law enforcement officers. [NYT/CBS 11/10/15]
