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                            January 6, 201369% Now Describe Themselves as Middle Class
The number of working Americans who now consider themselves middle class is at its highest level in nearly four years, while the number of working poor has fallen to an all-time low.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 69% of Employed Adults now describe themselves as middle class, while an additional 19% think of themselves as upper middle class. Only three percent (3%) consider themselves wealthy, and eight percent (8%) regard themselves as the working poor. (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 630 Employed Adults was conducted on January 2-3, 2013 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.

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                            January 5, 201355% Consider Obama Good or Excellent Leader
Over half of voters now give President Obama positive marks for leadership, his highest ratings since the early months of his presidency.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters consider Obama a good or excellent leader, the highest finding since May 2009. This is up three points from last month, which was the first time the finding passed the 50% mark since June 2009.
One-out-of-three (33%) rate Obama as a poor leader, unchanged from December which marked the lowest finding in over three years. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on December 29-30, 2012 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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                            January 5, 2013What They Told Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls - Week Ending January 5
The week began with a “fiscal cliff” deal that surprised no one and earned mixed reviews. It ended with another mixed unemployment report that is unlikely to change the general concerns about the nation’s economy.
Voters are evenly divided in their views of the last-minute deal to avoid the “fiscal cliff” reached by President Obama and Congress. Most Democrats like it; most Republican don’t. Very few expect government spending to go down as a result.

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                            January 4, 201320% Are Looking For Job Outside Current Company
Despite the continuing high unemployment rate, one-in-five employed Americans are now looking for work outside of their current company, even though a plurality says that staying with their present employer offers better opportunity for advancement.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 20% of Employed Adults are looking for work somewhere else, while 75% are not. Forty-seven percent (47%), though, say staying with their current company offers better opportunity for advancement than going to work elsewhere. Thirty percent (30%) disagree, and 23% are not sure.(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 630 Employed Adults was conducted on January 2-3, 2013 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.

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                            January 4, 201339% View EPA Favorably
Voters have a slightly less favorable opinion of the Environmental Protection Agency these days and still tend to consider it a drag on the economy. But they’re less enthusiastic about the need for congressional approval of EPA actions.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 39% of Likely U.S. Voters now have a favorable opinion of the EPA. Thirty-four percent (34%) view the agency unfavorably. Twenty-seven percent (27%) are undecided. (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 29-30, 2012 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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                            January 4, 2013On Jobs and Guns, Neither Party Has an Advantage
Voters are almost evenly divided as to which political party they trust more on gun control and job creation. They trust Democrats more on the environment and Republicans more in the areas of government spending and issues affecting small business.  
These are the findings from Rasmussen Reports’ latest national trust-on-issues survey. We tested five new issues that in future surveys will be added to the 10 we have regularly asked about for several years. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on January 2, 2013 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.
January 4, 2013Left Should Know, Obama Did Good By Froma Harrop
To my friends on the left: This one's for you.
Your grumbling that President Obama again gave away the store to Republicans is unwarranted. The deal to evade the fiscal cliff was no repeat of the debt-ceiling fiasco of 2011, when Obama famously bargained with himself. This time, he suppressed the urge to publicly consider raising the Medicare eligibility age. Meanwhile, he put off the clash over entitlements for another day.

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                            January 4, 2013Avoiding 'Fiscal Cliff' May Be a Bad Deal for Official Washington By Scott Rasmussen
In Washington, many are celebrating the deal to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff. Some, like The Washington Post, are hailing the "strong bipartisan votes (on) a big, contentious issue."
Outside of Washington, however, the reviews aren't nearly as strong.

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                            January 3, 2013Obama Earns Best Full-Month Ratings Since Mid-2009
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.
For the month of December, the president's Total Job Approval Rating improved two points from November to 56%, the highest level measured since May 2009.  Prior to the election, that finding has remained in the narrow range of 44% to 49% for two years straight.

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                            January 3, 2013Most Voters Oppose Lower Tax Rate for Capital Gains
The “fiscal cliff” deal keeps the tax rate on capital gains low compared to other income, but most voters don’t think that’s a good idea.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 55% of Likely U.S. Voters think capital gains should be taxed at about the same rate as other income. Thirteen percent (13%) believe capital gains should be taxed at a higher rate than other income. Twenty-five percent (25%) support the current policy of taxing those gains at a lower rate. (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 27-28, 2012 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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                            January 3, 2013Public Evenly Divided on Fiscal Cliff Deal
Voters are evenly divided in their views of the last-minute “fiscal cliff” deal reached by President Obama and Congress, but very few expect government spending to go down as a result. One-out-of-two predict taxes on the middle class will go up though.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 46% of Likely U.S. Voters approve of the deal, while 46% also disapprove. But the nays feel more strongly: These findings include just eight percent (8%) who Strongly Approve of the deal versus 25% who Strongly Disapprove. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on January 2, 2013 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.
January 3, 2013Fiscal Deal Passes as House GOP Clown Car Crashes, Again By Joe Conason
Observing the Congressional Republicans repeatedly stumble in and out of their caucus clown car, blowing loud kazoos and muttering angry threats, should be painful, embarrassing and highly instructive to any American voter with the patience to watch. When their latest performance concluded late Tuesday night with a 257 to 187 vote passing the stopgap fiscal deal negotiated by the Senate and the White House, an unavoidable question lingered: What is wrong with those people?      
January 3, 2013If Demography Is Destiny, Good News for Texas, D.C. By Michael Barone
Demographics buffs get a special Christmas present every year courtesy of the Census Bureau: its annual estimates of the populations of the 50 states and the District of Columbia.
This gives demographers a chance to see where the nation is growing and where it is not, and to get an idea of the destination of immigrants and of the flow of people into one set of states and out of another.

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                            January 3, 2013New High: 51% Think U.S. Needs Stricter Gun Control Laws
For the first time, most Americans are calling for tougher anti-gun laws. Even more are calling for stricter enforcement of the gun control laws already on the books.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 51% of American Adults now support stricter gun control laws, the highest finding in over six years of tracking. Forty-two percent (42%) disagree and oppose tougher laws in this area. (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 28-29, 2012 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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                            January 2, 201333% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
Thirty-three percent (33%) of Likely U.S. Voters now say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, December 30.
That's down from 35% last week and the lowest finding since the beginning of September. After Election Day, confidence in the nation’s course initially tracked in the low 40s, the highest level of optimism during the Obama years. Still, the latest finding is slightly higher than was found earlier in 2012 and is up 11 points from a year 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 national telephone survey of 3,000 Likely Voters was conducted by Rasmussen December 26-30, 2012. The margin of sampling error for the survey is +/- 2 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Fieldwork for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

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                            January 2, 201354% Say It’s Possible To Find Work These Days
At a time when the Rasmussen Employment Index is at its highest level since 2007, more Americans than ever believe that someone who wants to work can find a job. 
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 54% of American Adults say it’s possible for anyone who really wants to work to find a job. Thirty-three percent (33%) disagree, and 13% are not sure. (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 American Adults was conducted on December 26-27, 2012 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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                            January 2, 2013Rasmussen Employment Index Caps Year At Five-Year High
The Rasmussen Employment Index which measures worker confidence jumped 12 points in December to its highest level since November 2007.
At 91.2, the Employment Index is up 11 points from the start of 2012 and 12 points from its level a year ago.
The survey of 9,276 working Americans was conducted in December 2012 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 1 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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                            January 2, 201362% Favor Across-the-Board Spending Cuts, But 57% Think They’re Unlikely
Even as official Washington signs off on a “fiscal cliff” deal with $1 in spending cuts to every $41 in new taxes, most voters continue to favor across-the-board spending cuts but doubt they are likely to happen. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 39% of Likely U.S. Voters think it is even somewhat likely that government spending will be significantly reduced over the next few years. Fifty-seven percent (57%) see significant spending cuts as unlikely. This includes 11% who believe such cuts are Very Likely in the near future and 20% who say they are Not At All Likely. (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 29-30, 2012 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.
January 2, 2013No Regulation? No Problem By John Stossel
In the short time since President Obama was re-elected, government has issued hundreds of new regulations. The bureaucrats never stop. There are now more than 170,000 pages of federal regulations.   
January 2, 2013The Wrong Republicans By Froma Harrop
"The damage may have already been done," starts a Wall Street Journal news story about the fiscal cliff. This is damage a fix at this point can't fix. That Washington couldn't stop big automatic spending cuts and tax increases in an orderly manner marked another hit on the psyche of American business and consumers. Feeling captive to a bizarre political game is not pleasant, and yes, the damage can already be measured in dollars.