The government announced on Friday that the nation’s unemployment rate rose to 9.1% in May, dashing high-level hopes of an economic recovery in the near future. But most Americans aren’t surprised.
Voters remain closely divided over whether their fellow countrymen get involved in politics to bring about needed change or to keep the government at bay.
Over half (53%) of Americans now believe the federal government is more of a threat to individual rights than a protector.
Voters would rather be called a good citizen than a patriot, although they see little difference between the two labels. To be a good citizen, most agree it’s more important to do church and community work than to get involved in politics.
One-in-five Americans believe individual states have the right to break away from the country, although a majority doesn’t believe it will actually happen.
Voters express strong concern about the safety of America’s computer systems and think a major cyberattack on the United States should be grounds for forceful military retaliation.
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.
Most Americans remain concerned about the federal government’s financial situation and think the majority of politicians want more of their money.
When it comes to illegal immigration, voters see the job as more to blame than the job applicant.
Voters continue to be almost evenly divided when asked if they want to reelect President Obama.
The U.S. Supreme Court late last week upheld the legality of an Arizona law cracking down on employers who hire illegal immigrants, and most voters support having a similar law in their own state.
New Jersey voters give President Obama the edge over Governor Chris Christie in a hypothetical 2012 matchup, but they think their governor is doing a better job than the president when it comes to handling current budget problems.
The national health care law is still viewed as bad for the country by nearly half of U.S. voters, and most continue to favor repeal of the controversial measure.
Voters still seem to share Ronald Reagan’s view that government is the problem, not the solution.
Voters still believe U.S. society is fair and decent and tend to think President Obama doesn't agree with them.
While voters recognize the importance of the federal government’s role in disaster relief, many believe the response to a particular disaster may be politically motivated. There is also little confidence the government does a good job making sure relief money is distributed to all areas of need.
In Democratic-leaning New Jersey, both home state Governor Chris Christie and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney are within single digits of President Obama in hypothetical 2012 election match-ups.
A plurality of voters considers themselves pro-choice on the issue of abortion, but most still consider abortion morally unjust most of the time.
Voters clearly aren’t confident that their elected officials will wrestle federal spending under control. In fact, many now think the government’s more likely to go belly up.
Republican voters are slightly less critical of the job their representatives in Congress are doing, but most still think the legislators are out of sync with the party base. Democratic voters, by contrast, are not as happy with the performance of their congressmen as they were a year ago.
