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Rasmussen...
What They Told Us:
Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls
Saturday, April 09, 2011
It’s the economy, stupid. Remember that one? It was the political
mantra that propelled Bill Clinton into the White House. President
Obama would do well to remember it now that he’s declared his candidacy
for a second term.
Concern about inflation is increasing, as Americans say overwhelmingly
that they are now paying more for groceries and expect to pay even more
for them in the future. Eighty-seven percent (87%) say they are paying
more for groceries now than they were a year ago. That’s up 12 points
from last April. Looking forward, 77% think they will be paying more
for groceries a year from now, well above the range over the past two
years.
Rising gas prices, driven in part by the spreading political unrest in
the Arab world, are adding to Americans’ concerns about inflation. Yet
while most Americans agree with the president’s recent statement about
the need to limit U.S. dependence on foreign oil, 60% think it’s
unlikely America will reduce that dependence as much as the president
would like. One-in-two Americans are ready to drill for oil in the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) to lessen the country’s
dependence on foreign oil, a move the president opposes.
Despite renewed strong support for offshore drilling now that the oil
leak crisis has faded in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration
has made clear it is has not given BP the go ahead to resume drilling
in the Gulf of Mexico. Now the number of voters who believe protecting
the environment gets in the way of a growing economy has reached its
highest level in just over two years.
Consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in March, as
high gas prices correlated with discouraging consumer views about the
direction of the U.S. economy, according to the Discover U.S. Spending
Monitor.
The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures the economic confidence of
consumers on a daily basis, fell for the fifth straight day on
Saturday. Consumer confidence is down 13 points from three months ago.
The companion Rasmussen Investor Index, which measures the economic
confidence of investors on a daily basis, is down 15 points from three
months ago.
Twenty-five percent (25%) of adult consumers believe the U.S. economy
is getting better these days. Fifty-four percent (54%) believe it is
getting worse. Among investors, 31% say the economy is getting better,
while 48% take the opposite view. When 2011 began, investors were
evenly divided as to whether the economy was getting better or worse.
Yet while most voters have said consistently for years that lower taxes
and government spending cuts are good ways to boost the economy,
members of the president’s party are resisting the deeper reductions in
spending sought by Republicans. A partial shutdown of the federal
government is a distinct possibility.
But while voters like the idea of big spending cuts, they don’t think
even the GOP cuts will make much of a difference. Only 26% of voters
feel that the spending cuts proposed by congressional Republicans will
significantly reduce federal spending and deficits.
In the ongoing budget-cutting debate, some congressional Democrats have
accused their Republican opponents of being held captive by the Tea
Party movement, but voters like the Tea Party more than Congress.
Forty-eight percent (48%) say when it comes to the major issues facing
the country, their views are closer to those of the average Tea Party
member than to those of the average member of Congress. Just 22%
say their views are closest to those of the average congressman.
Voters continue to view the Republican agenda in Congress as more
mainstream than the agenda of the Democrats. But only one-in-four
voters think the average member of either party shares the same
ideology they do. Scott Rasmussen goes deeper into the numbers in a new
video.
Sixty percent (60%) of voters expect the partisan bickering in
Washington, D.C. to get even worse over the coming year.
One of the areas Republicans hope to cut is food stamps by adding a
work requirement similar to the one that was added several years ago to
general welfare payments. Fifty-five percent (55%) of Americans agree
that the government should require those who receive food stamps to
work.
But then many question the effectiveness of government anti-poverty
programs and believe they cause more of the problem they’re supposed to
lessen. Despite billions and billions of taxpayer dollars spent to
fight poverty, most Americans believe there are more poor people in
this country today than there were 10 years ago.
Another factor undoubtedly driving the congressional budget debate is
the belief held by roughly two-out-of-three voters that Americans are
overtaxed. Nearly as many say any federal tax increase should be
subject to a vote by the American people. Complicating things for
would-be budget cutters, however, is the view held by even more that
any changes in Social Security and Medicare also should be voted on by
the public.
While a majority of voters says the average American shells out 30% or
more of their income in taxes, most believe they really should pay no
more than 20%. In truth, Americans now pay approximately 28% of their
total income in taxes.
And no new taxes, please. Americans are used to being taxed for good
and services they purchase in person, but they remain opposed to
carrying that over to the online world.
As for the president’s signature legislative achievement of his first
two years in office, most voters still favor the repeal of the national
health care law and believe it will increase the federal deficit and
drive up the cost of health care. Most think the quality of care will
suffer, too.
On the foreign policy front, support for the U.S. military mission in
Libya and the president’s handling of the situation is declining.
Thirty-nine percent (39%) of voters now agree with Obama’s decision to
take military action in Libya, down from 45% two weeks ago just after
the mission began. At the same time, only 37% rate the president’s
handling of the situation in Libya as good or excellent. That’s down
six points from a week earlier just after the president’s nationally
televised address to the nation explaining his reasons for helping
Libyan rebels overthrow longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
Fewer voters than ever give Obama positive grades on his handling of
national security issues.
Only 24% of voters now say the country is heading in the right
direction. Since Obama assumed office in January 2009, confidence in
the nation’s current course has ranged from a low of 22%, reached three
weeks ago, to a high of 35% measured in early April 2009.
Just over one-quarter of voters now say they share the same political
views as the president.
The number of voters who Strongly Disapprove of Obama’s performance as
measured by the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll
inched up a point in March - for the second month in a row - to 40%.
This figure has stayed in a narrow range of 37% to 44% since July 2009.
In March, the number who Strongly Approve of Obama’s performance
dropped a point to 25%. By comparison, 43% Strongly Approved of the
president’s performance in January 2009, the month he took office.
In other words, the early signs suggest the president could be facing a
very competitive reelection contest.
Read the rest of the story, plus links, at Rasmussen
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