New government data suggests the housing market may be slowly beginning to revive, but for most Americans, short-term and long-term views of that market remain basically unchanged.
A government job looks less attractive to Americans than it did at the beginning of the year, but it remains the top employment choice in today’s economic environment.
Nearly eight-of-10 American adults (79%) know someone who is out of work and looking for a job. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 14% do not know an unemployed person looking for work.
Thirty-five percent (35%) of American adults say the federal "cash for clunkers" program was good for the U.S. economy. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 23% say the program hurt the economy, and 27% say it had no impact. Another 15% are not sure.
Confidence in the $787-billion economic stimulus plan proposed by President Obama and passed by Congress in February has rebounded a bit this month.
Eighty-two percent (82%) of Americans believe their bank account information is at least somewhat secure online, which helps to explain why an increasing number of people are sending personal financial information over the Internet for banking and shopping transactions.
Just six percent (6%) of voters nationwide now expect their own taxes to go down during the Obama years. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 42% expect their taxes to go up while 40% expect little change. Another 12% are not sure.
As General Motors experiments with selling new cars on E-Bay, 20% of American adults say they would buy a new car online. A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that 68% would not.
Members of Congress have expressed concern that economic stimulus funds are not being properly directed to major infrastructure projects, and it seems most Americans also lack confidence that the money will be correctly used.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of U.S. voters say tax cuts for the middle class are more important than new spending for health care reform, even as President Obama’s top economic advisers signal that tax hikes may be necessary.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans oppose any further funding for the federal “cash for clunkers” program which encourages the owners of older cars to trade them in for newer, more fuel-efficient ones.
Just 16% of U.S. voters believe that tax increases help the economy. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds most voters (54%) say tax increases hurt the economy, a number that has been fairly consistent for more than a decade. Fourteen percent (14%) say tax increases have no impact, and 16% are not sure.
A Rasmussen Reports survey conducted in mid-June showed that 17% of Americans were Very Likely to take advantage of the “Cash for Clunkers” program. Another 18% said they were Somewhat Like to do so.
So much for the ongoing secrecy of the nation’s independent central banking system. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 75% of Americans favor auditing the Federal Reserve and making the results available to the public.
Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans now say interest rates will be higher a year from now, a 20-point jump from April.
Confidence in the U.S. banking system has fallen again despite billions in federal bailout funds and record profits being declared by two of Wall Street’s top financial firms.
Most Americans still have a much higher opinion of the one Big Three automaker who didn’t ask for a government bailout, while views of the two companies that did get bailed out continue to go down.
Public opposition to the auto bailouts may translating into consumer buying decisions, with 46% of Americans now saying they are more likely to buy a car from Ford because it did not take government money to stay in business.
Confidence in the $787-billion economic stimulus plan proposed by President Obama and passed by Congress in February continues to fall.
Six percent (6%) of American workers expect to have a new employer within a year. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 17% expect to work for the same company for more than a year, but less than five. A plurality, 44% of workers, expect to have the same employer for more than five years.
