Tuesday, December 22, 2009 The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 25% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty-six percent (46%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -21 That’s the lowest Approval Index rating yet recorded for this President
66% Favor Smaller Government With Fewer Services, Lower Taxes
Thursday, December 17, 2009 Sixty-six percent (66%) of U.S. voters prefer a smaller government with fewer services and lower taxes over a more active government with more services and higher taxes.
That's the second highest finding of the year: In August at the height of the congressional town hall controversies over the health care plan, 70% felt that way.
Energy Update 50% Now Say Global Warming Caused by Long-Term Planetary Trends, Political Class Strongly Disagrees
Thursday, December 17, 2009 Public skepticism about the officially promoted cause of global warming has reached an all-time high among Americans.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of likely voters now believe that global warming is caused primarily by long-term planetary trends.
Just 34% say climate change is due primarily to human activity, even as President Obama and other world leaders gather at a UN summit to limit the human activity they blame for global warming. Six percent (6%) say there is some other reason for global warming, and 10% are not sure.
Belief that human activity is the primary cause of global warming has declined significantly over the past year. In April 2008, 47% blamed human activity and only 34% named long-term planetary trends as the reason for climate change.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009 Republican candidates have bounced back to a seven-point lead over Democrats in the latest edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 44% would vote for their district’s Republican congressional candidate while 37% would opt for his or her Democratic opponent.
Support for GOP candidates is up just one point over the past week, but support for Democrats slipped two points. A week ago, the Republican lead was down to four points from a seven-point margin the last week in November.
Republicans have held the lead on the ballot for over four months now. Democrats currently have majority control of both the House and Senate.
If a Tea Party candidate is in the race, the picture changes dramatically. A separate, three-way Generic Ballot test finds that Democrats attract 36% of the vote, while the Tea Party candidate picks up 23% and Republicans finish third at 18%. Another 22% are undecided.
79% Now Favor Auditing the Fed Friday, December 04, 2009
Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke on Thursday voiced his opposition to legislation calling for regular audits of the Fed’s monetary policies, but 79% of Americans think auditing the Fed is a good idea.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that just seven percent (7%) of adults oppose auditing the Federal Reserve and making those results available to the public. Fourteen percent (14%) are not sure.
The new findings mark a four-point increase in support for auditing the Fed from July. The audit - to be conducted by the General Accounting Office, Congress’ investigative agency - was first proposed by Republican Congressman Ron Paul and is now part of the House’s version of a bill putting more regulatory controls on the financial sector. The Senate is more skeptical of the audit proposal
Just 34% Say Passing Health Care Bill is Better Than Passing Nothing
Friday, December 18, 2009 Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide say that it would be better to pass no health care reform bill this year instead of passing the plan currently being considered by Congress. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 34% think that passing that bill would be better.
Middle-income voters are more likely than others to say that passing no legislation is the better option.
One reason for this is that most Americans now believe they will be worse off if reform passes. Fifty-four percent (54%) hold that view while just 25% believe they would be better off.
Senior citizens are more pessimistic than younger voters. Just 16% of seniors think they’ll be better off if the legislation passes while 59% have the opposite view.
51% Say Bad Economy Bush’s Fault, 41% Blame Obama Tuesday, December 22, 2009 As the end of President Obama’s first year in office nears, most voters still blame his predecessor, George W. Bush, for the country’s continuing bad economy.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 51% of U.S. voters say America’s economic problems are due to the recession which began under President Bush. Forty-one percent (41%) put more blame on Obama’s policies. Eight percent (8%) are not sure which of the presidents to blame.
These numbers have remained roughly the same since May, except for a brief bump in late October when voters were slightly more critical of Obama.
But 60% of voters now trust their own judgment more than the president’s when it comes to the economic issues facing the nation, up three points from the previous survey and 11 points higher than in early February just after Obama took office. Twenty-seven percent (27%) trust Obama’s economic judgment more, while another 13% are undecided.
Just 21% Favor Bernanke’s Reappointment As Fed Chairman
Wednesday, December 02, 2009 Ben Bernanke begins the formal process tomorrow for confirmation to a second term as chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, but 41% of Americans think President Obama should name someone new to the post.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that only 21% of adults believe the president should reappoint Bernanke to another four-year term. But a sizable 39% aren’t sure what the president should do.
In July, Americans were more closely divided over Bernanke’s reappointment: 26% thought it was a good idea, while 33% felt the president should name someone new. Even then, however, 41% were undecided.
Republicans are more strongly opposed to Bernanke’s reappointment than Democrats and adults not affiliated with either of the major parties. However, investors support a second term for Bernanke by more than two-to-one over non-investors.
These findings come as a number of Rasmussen Reports’ regular economic indexes show downturns in confidence.
Sunday, December 20, 2009 Prior to this weekend, there were two undefeated teams in the NFL, and most football fans expected that one of them would emerge as the Super Bowl champion at the end of the season.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of football fans finds that 29% expect the Indianapolis Colts to win it all while 26% say the New Orleans Saints will win their first title. But that was before the Saints lost 24-17 to the Dallas Cowboys on Saturday night.
While the Colts and Saints are the favorites, 14% think Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings will win the title. Earlier this season, 17% picked the Vikings to win it all. At the time, that was enough to make them the favorites. In that October survey, 12% thought the Saints would win and 9% picked the Colts.
Wednesday, December 16, 2009 The New York Times reports that “economists across the political spectrum say a consumption tax may be inevitable once the economy fully recovers.”
One of the reasons cited by the newspaper is the lack of political will to cut spending, but implementing a national sales tax may be even more of a political challenge. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 24% of voters favor a national sales tax. Sixty-five percent (65%) are opposed.
When the idea is paired with health care reform, it does a bit better. Thirty-nine percent (39%) support a national sales tax to pay for the cost of health care reform, but a majority (52%) still remains opposed.
Approval of U.S. Congress Essentially Flat, at 25%
Approval steady from November; majorities for -- as well as against -- healthcare bill disapprove by Lymari Morales
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- With the U.S. Congress battling until the brink of Christmas to try to pass a healthcare reform bill, Americans are growing neither more positive nor more negative about their elected representatives in Washington. More than two-thirds of Americans (69%) continue to disapprove of the job Congress is doing, while 25% approve -- essentially unchanged from last month.
Majority of Americans Still Not Backing Healthcare Bill
Forty-six percent would advise their member to vote for it, or lean in that direction by Jeffrey M. Jones
PRINCETON, NJ -- As the U.S. Senate continues working to craft a filibuster-proof healthcare reform bill, a new USA Today/Gallup poll finds public support for such efforts still below the majority level. Forty-six percent of Americans say they would advise their member of Congress to vote for healthcare legislation (or lean toward doing so), while 48% would advise a no vote (or lean in that direction).
Siena College Poll: Paterson Favorability & Job Ratings Inch Up; Remain Very Low Who’s Doing Best Job to Solve Budget Problem? None of Them Majority Support Legislature Not Cutting Education & Health Care to Close Deficit This Year; Plurality Favor Taxes Over Cuts for Next Year’s Deficit
Loudonville, NY. For the second month in a row, voters have given a modest boost to Governor David Paterson‟s favorability and job performance ratings, raising them above record lows but not dramatically higher than that, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of registered voters. Paterson remains far behind Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in a potential Democratic gubernatorial primary, and turned a three-point deficit against former Long Island Republican Representative Rick Lazio last month into a two-point lead this month. When voters were asked to choose among Paterson, Democrats in the Legislature or Republicans in the Legislature for who was doing the best job to resolve budget problems the winner was: none of the above. A majority of voters think not cutting education and health care further was the right choice and a plurality think raising taxes next year is a better way to close the deficit than cutting those two largest parts of the state budget. “The Governor‟s personal favorability rating edged up for the second month in a row. Now 36 percent of voters have a favorable view of him and 53 percent have an unfavorable view. While up considerably from his record low of 27-63 percent in the spring, it is a far cry from the 63-22 percent favorability rating Paterson enjoyed one year ago. It is nearly identical to the 36-56 percent rating he had in July,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg.
Siena College Poll: 2/3 of Voters Want to Change System of How Part-Time Legislators Earn & Report Outside Income, But No Consensus on How Plurality of Voters Disappointed Senate Rejected Same Sex Marriage Bill Gillibrand Leads Dem Field; Trails Giuliani, Leads Pataki & ‘Unknown’ Rep
Loudonville, NY. Fewer than one-third of voters favor the current system of defining state legislators as part time employees who can have other jobs. However, there is no consensus on how to change the system, with similar support for banning legislators from having other jobs and increasing public disclosure of the size and source of outside income, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of registered voters. More voters were disappointed than pleased that the Senate last month rejected the same sex marriage bill. Heading into 2010, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand leads the Democratic field and would handily beat an ‘unknown’ Republican, however, she trails former Mayor Rudy Giuliani by seven points and leads former Governor George Pataki by three points. “Only 31 percent of voters favor the current system of part-time state legislators who can have outside jobs and incomes, but voters cannot agree on how to best change the system. Better public disclosure of the size and source of outside income is the preferred reform of 27 percent of voters, while 31 percent favor prohibiting legislators from having outside employment,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. “And of those 31 percent who favor banning outside employment, fewer than half support increasing the salary of legislators, while the majority suggest banning outside employment and not increasing legislative salaries.
Majority Expect Economy, Personal Situation to Improve Next Year Energy, Gas and Food Still Drain Wallets Layoffs, Cut Hours Strap Worried and Cash Tight Consumers Most Cut Impulse Buys, Fun, Big Purchases, and Monitor Energy to Get by
Loudonville, NY – A majority of New York residents believe the economy in general and their personal financial situation will get better over the next year according to a new survey released today from the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). The cost of food remains a financial hardship for 67 percent and gas prices seriously impact 53 percent. Seventy-four percent worry about their winter heating costs. Nearly one in three New York households report a member getting a second job over the last six months to make ends meet while 23 percent have had a job loss and 26 percent have suffered a cut back in work hours. As a result of the economy, New Yorkers are eliminating impulse buying, managing energy usage, cutting back on entertainment and vacations, delaying major purchases and using coupons, as well as buying store brands. Still, by 49 to 45 percent, residents say that the current economic problems we face are temporary and that we will recover as opposed to those that believe our country’s best economic days are behind us.
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