Business

Confidence in Short-Term Economic Growth Remains At Record Low

Confidence among adults nationwide that the U.S. economy will be stronger a year from now remains at an all-time low.

47% View Home-Buying As Family’s Best Investment

For the sixth consecutive month, fewer than half of Americans say buying a home is a family’s best investment. An overwhelming majority continues to advise against selling a home in their area.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that just 47% believe buying a home is the best investment a family can make, showing virtually no change from last month. One in three (32%) says home-buying is not a family’s best investment, while 21% are not sure.

(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 November 18-19, 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.

81% Think Agreement on Major Spending Cuts Unlikely Before 2012 Elections

The congressional super committee tasked with finding over a trillion dollars in deficit reduction has given up without an agreement, but then voters expected that all along. In fact, most voters now believe overwhelmingly that President Obama and Republicans in Congress are unlikely to reach any agreement to make major cuts in government spending prior to next year’s elections.

(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 November 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.

37% Say Their Home Is Worth Less Than What They Owe On It

The number of American homeowners who say they owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth is again at an all-time high.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. homeowners shows that 51% believe their home is worth more than the amount they still owe on their mortgage.

Only 12% Expect Value of Their Home To Increase In Next Year

Confidence in the short- and long-term housing market remains at or near all-time lows.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 12% of U.S. homeowners now expect the value of their home to go up over the next year.

32% Owe More Money Than Last Year

At a time when confidence in the nation’s banking industry is at an all-time low, the number of Americans who say they owe more money than they did last year ties its all-time high.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 32% owe more money today than they did a year ago.

73% Think Most Bailout Money Went To Those Who Caused Economic Crisis

Americans believe more strongly than ever that most of the government bailout money for the financial industry went to those who caused the economic meltdown and that the government hasn’t tried hard enough to bring Wall Street criminals to justice.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 73% of American Adults now think most of the bailout money went to the people who created the economic crisis.

77% Have Unfavorable Opinion of Freddie Mac, 73% Say Same of Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are seeking billions more in taxpayer money to stay afloat, and Americans have a lower opinion than ever of the government-backed mortgage lenders. Both remain in deep financial trouble after lending to many who couldn’t afford their mortgages, and Americans continue to strongly oppose that policy.

(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 November 16-17, 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.

59% Say Government Bailouts Were Bad For America

More voters than ever look back negatively on the government bailouts of banks, auto companies and insurance companies. They remain divided as to what role they’d like the government to play in the struggling economy.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. voters shows that 59% believe the government bailouts of the auto industry and financial sector were bad for the country.

Voters Want Taxes Simpler but Not Flat

Support is strong for replacing the entire income tax code with something simpler with lower rates. Many believe a reformed tax code would help the economy, but a flat tax is not what most voters want to see.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Likely U.S. Voters shows that 77% think it’s at least somewhat important to replace the entire federal tax code with something simpler. Only 17% say it’s not important, while five percent (5%) are not sure. Those figures include 44% who say it’s Very Important and just four percent (4%) who say it’s Not at All Important.

(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 U.S. Likely Voters each were conducted on November 13-14, 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.

90% Say They're Paying More For Groceries Compared To A Year Ago

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke insists that the Federal Reserve is keeping inflation down, but Americans overwhelmingly say they are paying more for groceries these days and expect to pay even more in a year's time.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. Adults shows that 81% are at least somewhat concerned about inflation, including 47% who are Very Concerned. 

Confidence in U.S. Banks Dips to New Low

For the second straight month, Americans are less confident than ever in the nation’s banking industry.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. Adults shows that just 34% are at least somewhat confident in the stability of the U.S. banking industry, including only five percent (5%) who are Very Confident.

81% Express Concern That Europe’s Financial Problems Will Drag Down U.S. Economy

Most Americans still expect at least one of the financially troubled countries in Europe to default on its debt and worry that Europe’s bad economy will ultimately have a major negative impact on the United States.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 64% of American Adults believe it is at least somewhat likely that one of the economically troubled European countries like Greece, Ireland, Portugal or Spain will default on its debt in the next five years, but that’s down from 73% a month ago.

(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 Americans nationwide was conducted on November 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.

60% Favor Considering Spending Cuts in Every Government Program

Most Americans continue to believe everything should be on the table when it comes to federal spending cuts.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 60% of Likely Voters say thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every program of the federal government as the nation searches for solutions to the federal budget crises.

24% Think Stimulus Plan Reduced Unemployment, 30% Say It Added to Problem

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insists that the $787 billion stimulus plan passed in early 2009 kept the national unemployment rate from being much worse than it is, but Americans believe overwhelmingly that the stimulus did not help the economy and did not reduce unemployment.

36% of Workers Expect To Make More Money Next Year

A plurality of American workers believes they’ll earn about the same amount of money a year from today, and most continue to classify themselves as middle class.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of Employed Adults shows that 36% say they’ll be earning more money a year from today, while 12% think they’ll be earning less. Forty-five percent (45%) expect to be earning about the same amount of money a year from now. (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 563 Employed Adults was conducted on November 4-5, 2011 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.

New Low: 35% of Workers Plan on Staying At Current Company for More Than Five Years

Though a plurality of American workers still believes staying at their current company offers the best opportunity for career advancement, fewer plan on staying at that company for the long term.

41% Concerned Tax Reform Proposals Will Not Generate Enough Money

Several Republican presidential hopefuls are proposing major tax reform initiatives, but voters worry about how much money those proposals will generate.

Americans Raise The Bar On How Much Income Makes You Wealthy

You need to earn a little bit more these days for your fellow Americans to regard you as “wealthy.”

21% Support Paying Higher Taxes To Ensure All Pension Benefits for State Workers

Though most Americans nationwide don’t believe their state will have to raise taxes on the middle class to pay all promised pension benefits to state workers, most would rather see a reduction in those benefits than pay higher taxes.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows, when given the choice, 56% would rather reduce promised benefits for public employees than pay higher taxes to ensure that all promised benefits are paid. Twenty-one percent (21%) would rather pay higher taxes than reduce public employee benefits. Another 23% aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)