|
Rasmussen...
What They Told
Us: Reviewing Last Week’s Key Polls
Saturday, May 26, 2012
The Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start of summer for many
Americans, and it’s a good time to take stock of where the nation’s at.
First, there’s the size of government. Sixty-four percent (64%) of
Likely U.S. Voters prefer a government with fewer services and lower
taxes over one with more services and higher taxes. That’s consistent
with findings in regular surveys for years. Just 25% prefer a
government with more services and higher taxes.
Most voters also continue to believe tax cuts are good for the economy
and that more government spending has a negative impact.
In spite of these core beliefs, Scott Rasmussen notes in his latest
syndicated column, “President Obama, new French President Francois
Hollande and other political leaders have called for less ‘austerity’
as a way to help the troubled economies on both sides of the Atlantic.
That’s the polite way of saying they want more government spending and
larger deficits. But U.S. voters have a fundamentally different view.”
No wonder voters in this country remain dubious that their election
officials will wrestle the federal government under control. Fifty-one
percent (51%), in fact, believe the government will go bankrupt and be
unable to pay its debt before the federal budget is balanced.
Thirty-six percent (36%) disagree and think it’s more likely the
federal budget will be balanced first.
But Scott contends in his latest book, The People’s Money: How the
American People Will Balance the Budget and Eliminate the Federal Debt
, that the only thing standing in the way is a Political Class
committed to defending the status quo. Voters, he says, are ready to
support the kind of long-term thoughtful changes needed to balance the
budget and eliminate the federal debt.
Still, just 32% of voters now agree with Ronald Reagan’s statement that
the most frightening words you could ever hear are “I’m from the
government, and I’m here to help.” By the same token, only 15% believe
it is more honorable to work for the government than it is to work for
a private company.
Then there’s the economy. Regardless of official claims to the
contrary, 57% of consumers believe the U.S. economy is still in
recession, according to the Rasmussen Consumer Index at week’s end.
Fifty-six percent (56%) of investors agree.
The number of Americans who view buying a home as a family’s best
investment once again has fallen below 50%. Most Americans continue to
believe that homeowners who cannot afford their mortgage payments
should buy something cheaper rather than turn to the government for a
bailout.
Most working Americans believe their own workplace is free of gender
discrimination and don’t know anyone who’s been a victim of it. But
women continue to be more skeptical than men.
However, the majority of Americans views U.S. society as fair and
decent, although they’re more critical than they’ve been in a while.
Yet just 30% of Likely U.S. Voters say the country is heading in the
right direction, in line with slightly more optimistic findings since
the first of the year. Sixty-three percent (63%) continue to think the
country is heading down the wrong track.
The two men who hope to change that direction – the president and his
Republican challenger Mitt Romney - have been within two points of each
other on 11 of the last 12 days in the daily Presidential Tracking Poll.
The president now holds a six-point lead over Romney – 47% to 41% - in
Pennsylvania, a state considered essential to his reelection. This
marks a modest pickup for the president in Pennsylvania in terms of
both his level of support and his competitiveness with Romney.
Romney holds a comparable six-point lead over Obama – 48% to 42% -
among likely voters in Indiana.
On the national issues front, a number of Catholic organizations
including the University of Notre Dame have filed lawsuits challenging
the mandate in the president’s health care law that they provide birth
control to their employees in violation of Catholic religious beliefs.
Most voters oppose this mandate, but they also think it’s unlikely
these Catholic institutions ultimately will shut down rather than
implement the health care law.
Democrats have begun criticizing Romney’s business record, but 44% of
Likely Voters believe his track record in business is primarily a
reason to vote for him. Thirty-three percent (33%) see his business
career as chiefly a reason to vote against him. Twenty-two percent
(22%) are undecided.
Romney in turn has been criticizing the president for making major cuts
in defense spending and accuses him of undercutting America’s NATO
alliance with its European allies. But most voters favor withdrawing
all U.S. troops from Europe and letting the Europeans defend themselves.
Scott Rasmussen also points out in a new radio update that Romney’s
efforts to exempt the military from budget cuts is out of step with
voters.
Rasmussen Reports took a look at two big Senate races this past week.
In Pennsylvania, Democratic incumbent Bob Casey, Jr. holds a
seven-point lead over Republican challenger Tom Smith – 48% to
41%. Our first look at the U.S. Senate race in Indiana shows
Democratic Congressman Joe Donnelly and Tea Party-backed Treasurer
Richard Mourdock in a tie with 42% support each.
Republicans hold a four-point lead – 43% to 39% - on the Generic
Congressional Ballot for the week ending Sunday, May 20. The GOP has
led on the ballot every week but one since June 2009.
As for summer, more American workers than ever (56%) plan on using all
of their vacation time this year, but more are also connecting with
work while they are away.
Read the rest of the article with links at Rasmussen
|
|
|
|
