Public Pulse

Economy Has Young People Living On the Edge

Isaiah J. Poole — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 10:24:54 -0400

A poll done for Qvisory, an online advocacy organization aimed at helping young adults manage economic and lifestyle issues, revealed that the results of conservative economic policies have taken a severe tool on people between the ages of 18 and 35. In the Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research poll :

Fifty-five percent said that their finances, the economic squeeze and money are their biggest problems. Young people simply do not believe they have enough money to keep pace with the cost of living.
Forty-eight percent of young people worry frequently about making ends meet, and another 38 percent worry at least occasionally about making ends meet. Thirty-seven percent of parents also worry frequently about their children being able to make ends meet.
The percentage of young people holding almost every form of debt, other than mortgages and auto loans, is up from 2007. That includes credit card debt (52 percent, up from 49 percent), student loans (37 percent, up from 31 percent), unpaid medical bills (28 percent, up from 23 percent), loans from parents (20 percent, up from 12 percent) and payday loans (6 percent, up from 4 percent).
A small, but significant, minority report having their phone, cable or utilities cut off because they failed to pay their bill (19 percent) or have had their credit revoked, including a repossession or card cancellation (15 percent), in the last year. A large number of young people say they only pay the minimum monthly amount on their credit cards (57 percent) or that they have paid a late fee on a card (36 percent) in the past year.

Record Percentage of Americans Sees Themselves As Worse Off

Isaiah J. Poole — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 10:49:55 -0400

Fifty-five percent of Americans interviewed in a May 30-June 1 Gallup Poll said they were worse off financially than they were a year ago. This is the first time in the 32 years that Gallup has tracked this question that a majority of Americans have declared themselves worse off financially. During the recessions of the early Reagan years and the early 1990s, the percentage of Americans who said they were worse off than the previous year peaked between 44 percent and 48 percent. It was at its lowest point, 19 percent, during the economic boom of the late 1990s.

NAFTA-Type Deals Sour Public on Free Trade

Isaiah J. Poole — Mon, 05 May 2008 21:57:51 -0400

Forty-eight percent of the people responding to an April 2008 Pew Research Center poll said that free trade agreements are a bad thing for the country, compared with 35 percent who call them a good thing. In that same poll, 61 percent of respondents said that free trade causes job losses, 56 percent said it lowers wages and 50 percent said it slows the economy.

Iraq War Worsens Domestic Economic Problems

Alex Carter — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:07:09 -0400

The American public, by an overwhelming margin, believes that the cost of the Iraq war is worsening domestic economic problems. In a New York Times/CBS News poll completed on April 2, 67 percent of respondents said the war had contributed “a lot” to American economic problems, and 22 percent said it was contributing “some.” Only 10 percent said “not much” or “not at all.”

Parents are Very Concerned about Paying for Their Children's College

Alex Carter — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 12:21:41 -0400

According to a recent New York Times/CBS News poll, 70 percent of parents surveyed were “very concerned” about how they would pay for college; only 6 percent were not concerned.

Middle class blues

Eric Lotke — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 15:55:29 -0400

Fewer Americans now than at any time in the past half century believe they're moving forward in life.

A majority of respondents in an April 2008 Pew Survey say that in the past five years, they either "haven't moved forward in life" (25%) or have "fallen backwards" (31%). This is the most downbeat short-term assessment of personal progress in nearly half a century of polling by the Pew Research Center and the Gallup organization, though it correlates perfectly with gaps in income, also discussed in the report.

Government not Doing Enough on Economy

Alex Carter — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 13:16:12 -0400

A poll released Monday by Rasmussen Reports found that 63% of Americans believe the U.S. government isn't doing enough to help out the economy, while 19% believe the government's response has been adequate this election year.

Mostly Democrats believe that the government's response has been inadequate, however. Seventy seven percent of Democrats say the government hasn't done enough, while 43% of Republicans gave that response. Meanwhile, 67% of independent voters said the government isn't doing enough.

The economy is a key issue this election season. A Rasmussen poll released Sunday found that 38% of likely voters believe the economy is the top voting issue of the 2008 election, compared to 19% who said it's the war in Iraq. That same poll found that 48% of voters said the best thing the government can do for the economy is reduce taxes and regulations. The poll found that 36% disagree with that approach while 16% aren't sure. April 7, 2008.

High prices: food, too

Eric Lotke — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 21:42:52 -0400

The new Gallup poll shows that 51% of U.S. consumers say food prices have increased “a lot” over the past year, up from 28% two years ago, while 24% say the same about healthcare and prescription drugs, down from 34% in 2006.

Nine In Ten Americans Believe Iraq War Has Contributed To Economic Woes

Brian Dockstader — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 14:23:08 -0400

When asked "How much has the Iraq war contributed to U.S. economic problems?", only 10% of those surveyed said not much or not at all, while 67% said "a lot", and 22% answered "some".

Americans want government to return to domestic priorities

Robert Dorst2 — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 10:20:10 -0400

In a survey of voters in September 2007, Peter Hart Research found these two frames scored highest out of eight:

- “Over the past five years the Bush administration has spent nearly half a
trillion dollars in Iraq, while saying that we cannot afford to meet our
priorities at here at home. In fact with just one week of Iraq war funding,
about two billion dollars, we could have provided eight hundred thousand
children with health care coverage for one year. The Democrats
understand that it is time we put first things first and invest in health care,
education, and infrastructure right here in America. “
- 60% convincing (47% very)

- “Meeting our country's most important needs in a fiscally responsibility way
is just a matter of setting priorities. For the past six years President Bush
and the Republican Congress have put the priority on passing tax breaks
for multimillionaires and big corporations. The Democrats understand that it
is more important to put our priority on the things that make a difference for
the middle class and working families––good schools, health care, a clean
environment, and twenty-first century infrastructure.”
- 56% convincing (41% very)