Public Way Ahead of Treasury Officials On Housing Crisis Saturday, January 02, 2010
The New York Times reports that “the Obama administration’s $75 billion program to protect homeowners from foreclosure has been widely pronounced a disappointment, and some economists and real estate experts now contend it has done more harm than good.”
The article goes on to say that “Treasury officials appear to have concluded that growing numbers of delinquent borrowers simply lack enough income to afford their homes and must be eased out.”
Voters reached that conclusion long ago, according to a number of Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys.
Partisan Trends Number of Democrats Falls to New Low, Down Six Points Since Election 2008
Sunday, January 03, 2010 In December, the number of Americans identifying themselves as Democrats fell to the lowest level recorded in more than seven years of monthly tracking by Rasmussen Reports.
Currently, 35.5% of American adults view themselves as Democrats. That’s down from 36.0 a month ago and from 37.8% in October. Prior to December, the lowest total ever recorded for Democrats was 35.9%, a figure that was reached twice in 2005. See the History of Party Trends from January 2004 to the present.
The number of Republicans inched up by a point in December to 34.0%. That’s the highest total for Republicans since December 2007, just before the 2008 presidential campaign season began.
However, the number of Republicans in the country is essentially no different today than it was in November 2008 when Barack Obama was elected president.
The change since Obama’s election is that the number of Democrats has fallen by six percentage points and the number of voters not affiliated with either major party has grown by six. The number of adults not affiliated with either party is currently at 30.6%, up from 24.7% in November 2008.
What Voters Like About The Health Care Plan Monday, January 04, 2010
While most Americans continue to oppose the overall health care plan working its way through Congress, two reforms in the plan are supported by more than 70% of the public - creating a new national insurance exchange and requiring health insurance companies to accept applicants with pre-existing conditions.
New Rasmussen Reports national telephone polling finds that support for many other specifics in the plan ranges from just under to just over the 50% mark. But options about how to pay for the plan are less popular.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) favor the creation of an insurance exchange where people can shop for competing insurance plans. That figure includes 45% who Strongly Favor the exchange and is consistent with earlier polling showing that people tend to see competition as the best way to bring down the cost of health care.
Seventy-four percent (74%) favor imposing new rules on insurance companies and forcing them to accept all applicants without regard to pre-existing conditions. Fifty-two percent (52%) Strongly Favor this aspect of the reform plan.
Voters Agree Only on Taxing The Rich To Pay for Health Care Plan Monday, January 04, 2010
When it comes to paying for the cost of the proposed health care reform plan, voters are okay with taxing the rich but strongly reject cuts in Medicare and excise taxes on “Cadillac” health plans provided by employers.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that those who support the health care plan overall are strongly supportive of all three approaches to paying for the program. Most of those who are opposed to the plan are also opposed to each proposed means of paying for it.
Sixty-four percent (64%) of all voters favor imposing an income tax surcharge on individuals who earn more than $500,000 a year and couples who earn more than $1 million a year. Just 35% are opposed. However, a proposal to enact a significant excise tax on the most expensive health insurance plans provided by employers is supported by just 32% of voters. It is opposed by 59%.
The House version of health care reform includes an income tax surcharge on upper-income Americans while the Senate version places an excise tax on those more expensive programs.
34% Favor Single-Payer Health Care System Friday, January 01, 2010
Thirty-four percent (34%) of voters nationwide favor a single-payer health care system where the federal government provides coverage for everyone. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 52% are opposed to such a system, and 14% are not sure.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of political liberals favor the single-payer approach while 73% of conservatives oppose it.
Democrats favor the concept two-to-one while unaffiliated voters oppose it by an identical margin. Among Republicans, 74% are opposed.
It’s worth noting that support for a single-payer system is nearly as high as support for the health care proposal working its way through Congress. Currently, just 39% of voters nationwide favor the congressional plan.
47% Believe States Should Have Right to Opt Out of Health Care Plan Saturday, January 02, 2010
If the health care plan before Congress becomes law, 47% of voters nationwide believe states should have the right to opt out of it.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 40% disagree and oppose an opt-out clause for individual states. Thirteen percent (13%) are undecided.
A majority of those who favor the health care plan are opposed to the state opt-out provision. So are a majority of those who only mildly oppose the plan before Congress. But those who Strongly Oppose the health care plan favor allowing states to opt out by a 76% to 13% margin.
Sixty-two percent (62%) of Republicans favor the state opt-out concept while 55% of Democrats are opposed. As for those not affiliated with either major party, 49% prefer the opt-out, and 39% do not. Conservatives tend to like the idea, liberals don’t, and moderates are evenly divided.
More than anything else, these results should be seen as a desire by those who Strongly Oppose the proposed health care plan to do whatever they can to stop its implementation.
50% Expect U.S. Will Be In Recession At End of 2010 Friday, January 01, 2010 Fifty percent (50%) of Americans believe the country will still be in recession at the end of 2010, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
Just 20% disagree and say America will not be in recession by then. Thirty-one percent (31%) aren’t sure.
While many economists say the recession is over, 71% of all adults say it is not. Seventy-five percent (75%) of investors still believe the economy is in a recession.
Despite financial bailouts, an enormous economic stimulus plan and other big government initiatives in 2009, the new findings are virtually identical to those a year ago at this time. That’s partly because 50% of voters believe increasing government spending is bad for the economy. Just 28% believe that increased government spending helps the economy.
Only 22% of adults rated 2009 overall as good, excellent or the best year ever, while 41% give the past year a poor rating.
January 4, 2010 Majority of Americans Optimistic About U.S. in the Future Assessment of the future more colored by politics than in the past
by Jeffrey M. Jones PRINCETON, NJ -- Sixty-three percent of Americans describe their outlook for the United States during the next 20 years as "very optimistic" or "optimistic." Americans expressed greater optimism about the country's future near the beginning of the 1990s and 2000s, but the current level optimism exceeds that of Americans heading into the 1980s.
These results are based on a USA Today/Gallup poll conducted Dec. 11-13, 2009.
Thank you for posting these poll results. After reviewing many of the results and observing the voting record of our elected representatives, it is clear that the politicians are not representing the views and positions of the majority of their constituents.
Daily Presidential Tracking Poll Tuesday, January 05, 2010 The Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll for Tuesday shows that 27% of the nation's voters Strongly Approve of the way that Barack Obama is performing his role as President. Forty percent (40%) Strongly Disapprove giving Obama a Presidential Approval Index rating of -13 (see trends).
While most voters oppose the health care plan working its way through Congress, some individual components of the plan are popular. When it comes to paying for the cost of the proposed health care reform plan, voters are okay with the idea of taxing the rich, but strongly reject cuts in Medicare and excise taxes on “Cadillac” plans provided by employers.
While California wants a federal bailout, most voters say it would be better to let the state go bankrupt.
The Presidential Approval Index is calculated by subtracting the number who Strongly Disapprove from the number who Strongly Approve. It is updated daily at 9:30 a.m. Eastern (sign up for free daily e-mail update). Updates are also available on Twitter and Facebook.
Overall, 49% of voters say they at least somewhat approve of the President's performance. Fifty-one percent (51%) disapprove. To get a sense of longer-term trends, check out our month-by-month review of the President’s numbers.
In Massachusetts, Democrat Martha Coakely leads by nine in the race for Ted Kennedy’s old Senate seat.
Election 2010: Massachusetts Special Senate Election 2010 Massachusetts Senate: Coakley 50%, Brown 41%
Tuesday, January 05, 2010 State Attorney General Martha Coakley holds a nine-point lead over her Republican rival, state Senator Scott Brown, in Massachusetts’ special U.S. Senate election to fill the seat of the late Edward M. Kennedy.
A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters in the state finds Coakley ahead of Brown 50% to 41%. One percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, and seven percent (7%) are undecided.
The special Senate election will be held on January 19 and special elections typically feature low turnout. That’s one reason the race appears to be a bit closer than might typically be expected for a Senate race in Massachusetts. Kennedy carried 69% of the vote when he was reelected in 2006.
Coakley, who was elected attorney general in 2006, defeated several other candidates to win her party’s nomination in a December 8 Primary. Brown, who has served in the State Senate since 2004, won the GOP Primary the same day.
The health care issue is expected to play a big role in the debate and Massachusetts voters hold modestly favorable attitudes about the proposed legislation. In the Bay State, 53% favor the plan working its way through Congress and 45% oppose it.
However, as is the case nationally, those who feel strongly about the bill are more likely to be opposed. The overall figures include 36% who Strongly Oppose the plan while 27% Strongly Favor it.
Congressional Performance 58% Say Congress Doing A Poor Job
Monday, January 04, 2010 Voters feel more strongly than ever that Congress is performing poorly and that most of its members are in it for themselves.
Fifty-eight percent (58%) of U.S. voters now say Congress is doing a poor job. That’s the highest negative finding since Rasmussen Reports began surveying on the question in November 2006.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that just 12% of voters believe Congress is doing a good or excellent job, the lowest total since the first of February last year.
Forty-three percent (43%) of all voters say most members of Congress are corrupt, the highest level of belief since we began asking this question in June 2008. By comparison, just 32% say most congressmen are not corrupt, but that’s the lowest level of confidence in over 20 months. Twenty-five percent (25%) remain undecided.
Another new low is the number who say most members of Congress are more interested in their own careers than in helping other people.
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