What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending December 3, 2010
Out with the old, in with the new. That’s what many shoppers are likely to be thinking this time of year, and what many voters may have in mind as well.
Out with the old, in with the new. That’s what many shoppers are likely to be thinking this time of year, and what many voters may have in mind as well.
Despite the upcoming Republican takeover of the House, most voters are still not convinced Congress will actually cut government spending substantially over the next year. GOP voters are among the most doubtful.
Most voters believe public release of U.S. secret and confidential documents hurts national security, and they consider the leaking of such information to be an act of treason.
Voters are strongly concerned about the impact of the latest dump of sensitive and secret U.S. data on the Internet by the WikiLeaks organization and think the U.S. government needs to do a better job protecting that kind of information.
When tracking President Obama’s job approval on a daily basis, people sometimes get so caught up in the day-to-day fluctuations that they miss the bigger picture. To look at the longer-term trends, Rasmussen Reports compiles the numbers on a full-month basis, and the results can be seen in the graphics below.
Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters believe the U.S. spends more on national defense than it does on Social Security.
Voters continue to blame the George W. Bush administration more than President Obama's policies for the country's ongoing economic problems.
President Obama proposed today a freeze on the salaries of federal employees for the next two years as an effort to help rein in the growing federal budget deficit. Recent Rasmussen surveys suggest that voters think that's a good idea.
Most voters who fly appear comfortable with the federal Transportation Safety Administration’s new airport security measures.
Nearly half of Likely U.S. Voters (47%) continue to believe that repeal of the health care law passed earlier this year is at least somewhat likely.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of Likely Voters nationwide recognize that the United States spends more on the military and national security than any other nation in the world. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 19% disagree, and 24% are not sure.
The holiday season is upon us, and Americans are off to races when it comes to shopping. But even as many will be watching their own spending, another opportunity to say something about how the government spends our money is on the horizon.
Voters are overwhelmingly clear: they want to believe that elections make a difference. But they remain deeply skeptical about the new Congress.
Voters expect tensions between the two Koreas to escalate, and a plurality is supportive of U.S. military assistance to South Korea if it’s attacked. At the same time, a plurality opposes sending more U.S. troops there.
Forty-one percent (41%) of voters now recognize that the majority of federal spending goes to just national defense, Social Security and Medicare. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 39% disagree and say it’s not true, while 20% are not sure.
Voters are clearly dubious about the size and scope of today’s federal government.
Sixty-six percent (66%) of voters nationwide favor a proposal to cut the federal payroll by 10% over the coming decade. A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey found that just 22% are opposed and 12% are not sure.
Most voters continue to favor repeal of the national health care law, and they remain almost evenly divided over whether the law will force them to change their own health insurance coverage.
More than one-out-of-four Likely U.S. Voters (27%) now believe American society is generally unfair and discriminatory, the highest negative finding in over a year.
Talk about low expectations.
Rasmussen Reports gave voters nationwide a short list of issues that Congress will consider in the next couple of years, including immigration, government spending and taxes, and asked whether they were optimistic or pessimistic about what the legislators will accomplish in these areas.