A Week in the Life of America
What did you do in the past week?
Public Content
Most Recent Releases
January 27, 2011
Most Voters Oppose Letting States Declare Bankruptcy
States are currently not allowed by law to file for bankruptcy, but former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and others have argued that bankruptcy might be the least painful alternative for taxpayers in heavily debt-ridden states like California, Illinois and New York. Voters aren't thrilled with the idea, but they like it better than higher taxes, and they're even more supportive if told government employees might have their pensions reduced in the process.
January 27, 2011
50% Now Oppose President’s New Spending Proposals
The president’s Tuesday night State of the Union speech had little impact on support for his new spending proposals in areas like education, transportation and technological innovation.
January 27, 2011
Obama Changes the Narrative By Joe Conason
Complaints about President Obama's State of the Union address on both sides of the political divide (which was obscured but not obliterated by the evening's novel seating arrangements) seemed to miss its point and purpose
January 27, 2011
The Early Line: 2012 House Races By Isaac T. Wood
Following the 2010 House “shellacking” by the GOP, Democrats are hungry for revenge while Republicans are hungry for more. While there is an endlessly long list of unknowns as we assess the November 2012 races from our current vantage point, 22 months removed from Election Day, there are also several signposts that offer some suggestion of what the 2012 House elections may bring.
January 27, 2011
56% Say Arizona Shooter Should Receive Death Penalty
Jared Loughner, the Arizona man accused of shooting Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and killing six others, has pleaded not guilty to murder, but most Americans believe he should receive the death penalty if convicted.
January 27, 2011
Obama's Take on U.S. Innovation By Debra J. Saunders
The problem with left-leaning elites trying to run the U.S. economy from the top down is simple: They think the answer to America's economic woes is to create more jobs that replicate managers just like them.
January 26, 2011
29% Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction
Twenty-nine percent (29%) of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the right direction, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey taken the week ending Sunday, January 23. That’s up two points from last week but consistent with findings since early November.
January 26, 2011
Voters Less Critical of Obama’s Leadership
President Obama's job approval ratings have been on the rise, and now voters show less negativity toward both his leadership abilities and style.
January 26, 2011
60% Trust Business Leaders More Than Government To Create Jobs
President Obama argued strongly in his State of the Union speech last night for a bipartisan effort to create jobs, but most Americans think the best thing government can do is get out of the way.
January 26, 2011
Mr. ‘Investment’ By Lawrence Kudlow
In his State of the Union message tonight, President Obama is likely to call for some kind of corporate tax reform. But don’t look for him to be a budget-cutter.
January 26, 2011
Regulations and Rhetoric By Tony Blankley
Last week, the president wrote in the Wall Street Journal an article titled "Toward a 21st-Century Regulatory System" in which he announced that he had issued an executive order to review all government regulations on a cost-benefit ratio basis. In itself, this is a good idea, although the president makes it explicit that the cost-benefit analysis must take account of -- as benefits -- intangible factors such as "equity, human dignity, fairness, and distributive impacts." Plenty of leeway there for career regulators and liberal political appointees to justify almost any oppressive regulation they may stumble over.
January 26, 2011
Government’s “Other” Gluttony By Howard Rich
Over the last decade, America’s leaders chose to address the unsustainable growth of an already bloated federal government by spending unprecedented amounts of borrowed money. First there was George W. Bush’s “compassionate conservatism,” a wholesale abandonment of the Republican view of limited government that quickly turned surpluses into deficits – and independent voters into Democrats.
January 26, 2011
Voters Not Cutting New Congress Any Slack
There's a new Congress in town, but it still has a way to go to convince voters it's not more of the same.
January 26, 2011
33% of GOP Voters Hope Palin Isn’t 2012 Nominee
Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin remains a top favorite of Republican voters, but she’s also the front-runner they least want to see get the GOP’s 2012 presidential nomination.
January 25, 2011
Fewer Voters Blame Obama Policies for Nation's Economic Problems
Tonight’s State of the Union address marks the halfway point of President Obama’s first term in office, and the number of voters who blame the president's policies for the country's continuing economic problems is at its lowest level since early October 2009.
January 25, 2011
27% Likely To Buy An Electric Car in Next 10 Years
Despite renewed concerns about the price of gas, most Americans still aren’t likely to buy an electric car in the next 10 years.
January 25, 2011
Giuliani is Leading GOP Contender If Front-Runners Drop Out
So what if Mitt Romney, Sarah Palin, Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich decide not to run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012 or their campaigns falter in the early going? Who will the GOP turn to?
January 25, 2011
Voters Wary of State of the Union Spending Proposals
President Obama is expected to call for targeted new government spending for education, transportation and technological innovation in his State of the Union speech tonight, but voters are lukewarm to the idea.
January 25, 2011
Deficits as Far as the States Can See By Froma Harrop
Like me, you may be wondering why 96,000 California state workers were given cell phones courtesy of the taxpayers. For, like me, you probably use a cell phone in the course of your work. And we know that if we asked our employers to pay for it, the answer would be N-O.
