Pew Research Center for the People & the Press

For the Public, a Tough Year Ends on a Down Note

Little Progress Seen on Major Domestic Issues

December 15, 2010

Consistent with the mood of the nation all year, 2010 is closing on a down note. Fully 72% are dissatisfied with national conditions, 89% rate national economic conditions as only fair or poor, and majorities or pluralities think the country is losing ground on nine of 12 major issues.

The public is especially bearish about the federal budget deficit, the cost of living, the financial condition of Social Security and the availability of good-paying jobs. At least six-in-ten say the country is losing ground in each of these areas.

Smaller majorities say the nation is losing ground on the gap between rich and poor (58%), the ability to compete economically with other countries (55%) and the financial condition of Medicare (51%).

The latest national poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Dec. 1-5 among 1,500 adults, finds only two issues where relatively small minorities say the United States is losing ground -- international terrorism (25% losing ground) and environmental pollution (23%). Even in these areas, however, most Americans do not see progress being achieved; rather, pluralities say things are staying about the same as they have been.

Yet Americans' views about how the nation is doing on several major issues have improved since December 2008, a time when Americans expressed an even more negative view of the economy than they do today.

Opinions among Republicans and Democrats also have changed substantially since then, shortly before President Obama took office. On many issues, the percentage of Republicans saying the nation is losing ground has increased, while the percentage of Democrats expressing this view has declined.

This shift has been particularly dramatic in opinions about the way the health care system is working. Currently, 67% of Republicans say the country is losing ground on health care, up from 41% two years ago. Opinion among Democrats has moved as sharply in the opposite direction: 33% now say the country is losing ground, down from 67% in December 2008.

The survey finds that not only does the vast majority of Americans take a negative view of current economic conditions, many also see recovery as a long way off. Just 17% think the economy is now recovering while 33% say recovery will occur soon. Nearly half (48%) say it will be a long time before the economy recovers, which is little changed from earlier this year.

Jobs remain the public's primary economic concern. Nearly half (47%) cite the job situation as the economic issue that worries them most; far fewer say the federal budget deficit (19%), rising prices (15%) or problems in the financial markets (14%). (For more, see "Deficit Solutions Meet with Public Skepticism," Dec. 9, 2010).

Perceptions about the availability of jobs, both locally among the public and in people's line of work among those with jobs, have worsened as the unemployment rate has risen.

Nearly eight-in-ten (79%) say jobs are difficult to find in their community, while just 14% say there are plenty of jobs available. In February 2008, more than twice as many (34%) said jobs were plentiful. And 65% of those working full  or part time say jobs in their line of work are difficult to find in their community, up from 46% in early 2008.

Moreover, 46% of Americans say there has been time when they or someone in their household has been without a job and looking for work.

The survey finds that a majority of the public (57%) says it is very difficult or difficult to afford things they really want. About the same percentage said this two years ago (55%). And for many Americans, affording basic necessities remains a struggle -- 51% say it is difficult to afford health care, 48% say the same about their home heating and electric bills, and 29% say it is difficult to afford food.

Looking ahead to next year, most Americans (55%) say that 2011 will be better than 2010, while 31% say the coming year will be worse. But there was even more optimism at the start of this year: In January, 67% said that 2010 would be a better year than 2009.

Perceptions of Progress on Major Issues

Americans are tough graders when assessing the country's progress on major issues. Since 1989, when this question was first asked, there has not been an occasion when a majority of the public said the country was making progress on any issue.

Nevertheless, beliefs about whether the nation is making progress, staying about the same, or losing ground on issues have fluctuated over the years.

While large majorities say the nation is losing ground on the budget deficit (67%) and the availability of good jobs (64%), even higher percentages expressed these negative views two years ago (79% losing ground on budget deficit, 72% on availability of good-paying jobs). Opinion on other economic issues has shown less change since 2008.

The public's outlook on both issues has shown dramatic changes since the mid- to late-1990s. In November 1997, after Bill Clinton and the GOP Congress agreed on legislation to balance the budget within five years, as many said the country was making progress (32%) as losing ground (29%) on the deficit. Just three years earlier, 60% said the nation was losing ground on the deficit. By the middle of the current decade, a majority (65%) once again said the nation was losing ground on the deficit. That figure rose to 79% in 2008 before to declining to 67% in the current survey.

As the economy boomed in the late 1990s, the public had a relatively positive view of job availability; in both 1997 and 2001, roughly as many said the nation was making progress as losing ground on the availability of good jobs. But by 2008, 72% said the country was losing ground in this area while just 11% said it was making progress.

Changing Partisan Reactions

Just as opinions among Republicans and Democrats about whether the nation is losing ground on health care have reversed in recent years, so too have attitudes about whether the country is losing ground on the budget deficit and the availability of good-paying jobs.

In February 2007, 75% of Democrats said the nation was losing ground on the deficit, compared with 47% of Republicans.

In December 2008, during the financial crisis and the final month of the Bush administration, opinions among partisans converged -- 79% of Democrats and 75% of Republicans said the nation was losing ground on the budget deficit. In the current survey, 86% of Republicans see the nation falling behind on the deficit compared with 51% of Democrats.

Similarly, in 2007 far more Democrats (56%) than Republicans (29%) said the nation was losing ground on the availability of good-paying jobs. Today, more Republicans (71%) than Democrats (53%) say the United States is falling behind in this area.

Among independents, 70% say the nation is losing ground on the deficit, down from 83% in 2008. The proportion of independents saying the nation is losing ground on job availability (67%) is about the same as two years ago (70%) but much higher than in 2007 (52%).

The partisan shifts in the belief that the nation is losing ground are evident on other issues as well. Republicans are now far more likely than Democrats to say the nation is losing ground on the financial condition of Social Security and Medicare. In 2005, during the Bush administration, more Democrats than Republicans said the nation was losing ground in these areas.

Republicans See Ground Being Lost on Most Issues

Across 12 issues included in this year's survey, there is only one on which substantially more Democrats than Republicans say the nation is losing ground -- the gap between the rich and poor; 62% of Democrats say the country is losing ground on the rich-poor gap compared with 50% of Republicans. Still, the partisan difference over this issue was even larger in 2007 when 72% of Democrats and 44% of Republicans said the nation was losing ground.

Independents' views about progress on major issues tend to fall between those of Republicans and Democrats. But independents come closer to Republicans on some issues and Democrats on others.

Six-in-ten (60%) independents say the nation is losing ground on its ability to compete economically with other nations, placing them much closer to Republicans (72%) than Democrats (39%). And half of independents (50%) say the nation is losing ground on illegal immigration; that compares with 58% of Republicans and just 26% of Democrats. Independents also are closer to Republicans than Democrats in evaluations of progress on job availability and terrorism.

By contrast, independents are just as likely as Democrats to say the nation is losing ground on the gap between rich and poor (62% in each group); fewer Republicans (50%) express this view. And fewer than half of independents (46%) say the country is losing ground on the way the health care system works, placing them closer to Democrats (33%) than Republicans (67%).

Rich and Poor Alike See Income Inequality

As might be expected, people with lower family incomes are more likely than those with higher incomes to say that the nation is losing ground on the cost of living. Seven-in-ten (70%) with incomes of $30,000 or less say the nation is losing ground on the cost of living compared with 54% of those with annual incomes of $75,000 or more.

Yet there are no differences in how higher and lower-income groups view the rich-poor gap. More than half (55%) of those with family incomes of $30,000 or less say the nation is losing ground on the rich-poor gap; an identical percentage (55%) of those with incomes of $75,000 or more say the same. And those in the highest income category ($100,000 or more) express similar opinions about the rich poor gap -- 53% say the nation is losing ground, 38% say things are staying about the same and 7% say the nation is making progress.

Continue reading the full report -- and view the topline findings and methodology -- at people-press.org.