In a recent nationwide Zogby Interactive survey, respondents were asked, “Have you already or do you plan to be vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu virus this year?” About 30% of the sample chose “I have already been vaccinated” or “Yes, I plan to be vaccinated.” A majority (62%) of the sample claimed to have no plan to be vaccinated. Another 8% chose “not sure.”

When the results are broken down by ideology, we find that liberals are most likely to plan on receiving the vaccine. About 48% of liberals are either already vaccinated or plan to be vaccinated, compared to 36% of moderates and 18% of conservatives and libertarians.

Have you been vaccinated against the H1N1 swine flu? If not, do you plan to be vaccinated? What do you think accounts for the ideological differences when it comes to flu vaccination?

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In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that came closest to their view on the War on Terror. About 45% of the respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that our efforts in the War on Terror should focus on addressing anti-American sentiment in the world, compared to 37% of the respondents who strongly or somewhat agreed that our efforts in the War on Terror should focus on using military force. About 18% of the respondents chose “none of the above” or “not sure.”

Significant differences were found between ideological groups. Seventy-seven percent of liberals are in favor of focusing on anti-American sentiment, compared to 18% of conservatives who think so. Moderates are leaning towards liberals on this issue; sixty-one percent of them believe that dealing with anti-American sentiment should be the priority. Around two-thirds (67%) of conservatives believe that the focus should be on using military force, compared to 22% of moderates and 4% of liberals who believe so.

Where do you stand on this issue? If you believe that anti-American sentiment in the world is the primary issue here, what do you think should be done to address it? If you think that our efforts in the War on Terror should focus on using military force, what do you think would be the best course of action for the government?

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In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that came closest to their view on tax reduction. About 60% of the sample strongly or somewhat agreed that all Americans would benefit from drastically reduced taxes, while 36% of the respondents strongly or somewhat agreed that not all Americans would benefit from drastically reduced taxes. Less than 5% chose neither of the statements or “not sure.”

Significant differences were found between ideological groups. About 86% of conservatives strongly or somewhat agreed that all Americans would benefit from drastically reduced taxes, compared to 47% of moderates and 22% of liberals. Those without a college degree (66%) were more likely to see universal benefits in drastic tax reduction than those who are college-educated (51%). Along party lines, 59% of Democrats believe that drastically reduced taxes benefit only part of the population, in contrast to 15% of Republicans and 29% of Independents. Other groups who were more likely to agree with the all-embracing benefits of tax reduction are Protestants (69%),  gun owners (72%), respondents who have a child under 17 years old (69%) and those who shop at Wal-Mart at least a few times per month (73%).

Where do you stand on the issue of tax reduction? Do you believe that all Americans would benefit from tax reduction? If not, who do you think would benefit most from tax reduction? On a more personal level, how would tax reduction affect your life?

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In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that comes closest to their personal beliefs on education. About half (49%) of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that the only way to get better education in America is to invest in public education, while 35% of the respondents strongly or somewhat agree that the only way to get a better education in America is to pay for private education. About 16% of the respondents chose “none of the above” or “not sure.”

The respondents are divided on this issue along the ideological line. Eighty-six percent of the liberals are in favor of investing in public education, while only 18% of the conservatives and libertarians favor public education investment. On the other hand, 61% of the conservatives agree that the only way to get better education is to pay for private education, as opposed to 4% of the liberals who believe so. The moderates are more on the liberal side on this issue. About 66% of the moderates favor public education investment, compared to 20% who support paying for private education.

Where do you stand on this issue? Where would you like to see you children receive their education? Do you see a wide gap between the American public education system and its private counterpart? What do you think are the biggest problems American education system is facing today?

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In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, the respondents were asked to choose between two statements on the issue of social security. About 41% of the sample agree that the government should keep social security the way it is to ensure seniors can maintain a good standard of living, even if it means future tax increases, while 48% of the respondents agree that the government should allow people to invest their social security taxes in private investment accounts because even if there is a risk of having less, people will have more control and more opportunity to save even more for retirement. Eleven percent of the sample chose neither statement or “not sure”.

Liberals (77%), Democrats (72%), people who are divorced, separated or widowed (56%), African Americans (55%) and people aged 50 or above (51%) are more likely to agree that social security should be kept the way it is. Conservatives (80%), Republicans (77%), libertarians (73%), people who are parents or guardians of a child under 17 (59%), people who are married (58%) and the 30 to 49-year-olds (57%) are more likely to be in favor of investing their social security taxes.

Where do you stand on this issue? Do you think that people should have more control over their social security money? Or do you think that risks involved in private investment are too high to take for the case at hand?

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In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked about their attitude towards the government’s role in environmental protection. The results show that the sample was almost equally split on this issue. About 47% of the respondents strongly or somewhat agree that the government needs to devote more resources to protecting the environment, while almost 48% of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that the government has taken protecting the environment too far and is hurting businesses with too many regulations.

A closer examination of the results by ideological group shows that 94% of the liberals agree that the government needs to devote more resources to environmental protection, compared to 65% of the moderates and 9% of the conservatives.

What kind of role do you think the government should play in environmental protection? Do you think that the carbon cap-and-trade bill should be passed by the Congress?

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In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that comes closest to their beliefs on the issue of abortion. Almost two-thirds (64%) of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that abortion is a private decision between a woman and her doctor, while over one-fourth (27%) of the respondents strongly or somewhat agree that abortion is not a private decision between a woman and her doctor. About 7% of the sample does not agree with either of the statements.

About 58% of Christians (including both Catholics and Protestants) agree that abortion is a private decision, compared to 87% of the respondents with no religious affiliations. Among Christians who attend religious services more than once a week, 32% agree that abortion is a private decision, compared to 76% of Christians who never or rarely attend religious services.

Where do you stand on the issue of abortion? Do you think that a woman should be able to decide what happens to her own body? Or do you think that the state has a compelling interest in protecting prenatal life?

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According to a news article at CNN’s website, the campaign to overturn Maine’s new gay-marriage law is heating up within the Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland is now asking parishioners for donations to fight against the state’s same-sex marriage law passed last spring.  Voters in Maine will decide on November 3^rd whether to repeal the marriage equality law or not.

In a recent Zogby Interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that comes closest to their beliefs on gay marriage. A slight majority of the sample (57%) strongly or somewhat agrees that marriage should only be between one man and one woman, while more than one-third (39%) of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that the institution of marriage should adapt to a changing society.

Subgroup analyses show that 66% of Christians (including both Catholics and Protestants) are against same-sex marriage, compared to 23% of the respondents with no religious affiliations. Among Christians who attend religious services more than once a week, 88% are against same-sex marriage, compared to 55% of Christians who rarely or never attend religious services.

What is your opinion on same-sex marriage? Do you think that same-sex relationships should be recognized legally as equal to heterosexual relationships? Do you think that a different name other than marriage, such as civil union, can be divisive and counterproductive, as some gay marriage activists suggest?

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In a recent Zogby interactive survey of adults nationwide, respondents were asked to choose a statement that comes closest to their personal beliefs on affirmative action. About 26% of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that affirmative action levels the playing field, while 65% of the sample strongly or somewhat agrees that affirmative action rewards some groups at the expense of others.

According to an online article in the New York Times, “the selection of Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court promises to open a new battle in the fight over affirmative action and other race-conscious remedies for patterns of  inequality.”  Some conservatives believe that her strong identification with race-based approaches to the law disqualifies her from the position.

What are your views on affirmative action? Do you think that affirmative action does more harm than good? Do you think it should face a time limit, given that much of its justification has concerned the righting of past wrongs? Do you believe that a racially mixed campus/workplace benefits society overall?

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In a recent Zogby interactive survey, we asked the respondents how they stay in touch with their family and friends both near and far. Here are the results. 

When we asked, “which one method is your favorite for keeping in contact with family and friends who live in the same geographic area as you live?” the top five choices are:

• Landline conversation (25%)
• Cellphone/Smartphone conversations (24%)
• Email (23%)
• Cellphone/Smartphone texting (13%)
• Facebook (10%). 

When we asked, “which one method is your favorite for keeping in contact with friends and family who live outside the geographic area where you live?” the ranking above changed to:

• Email (39%)
• Facebook (24%)
• Cellphone/Smartphone conversations (13%)
• Landline conversation (13%)
• Cellphone/Smartphone texting (6%)

Facebook made the top-5 list in both cases. Groups that prefer to stay in touch with their family and friends through Facebook are the 18-to-29 year olds (53%), respondents who do not own a house (43%), those who have a child under 17 years old (41%), and those living in small cities. Groups that are least likely to use Facebook as their favorite method for keeping in touch with friends and family are respondents who live in rural areas (16%), those over 50 years old (7%), and respondents who are divorced, separated or widowed (11%).

How do you stay connected with your friends and family? Which of the methods above is your favorite? Do you use Facebook and texting a lot to keep your friends and family updated? How frequently do you use them?

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