One-Third of 18-24 Year Olds: Obama Is Abandoning Progressive Causes

By Alexander Heffner / November 4th, 2009

Steph Uncategorized economy, faith, Obama, war, white house, work, zogby

A lot has changed in America over the past year. We have a new President and a new administration. Healthcare reform is now on the front burner. Swine flu fears are making headlines. But some things haven’t changed: Troops remain in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a new surge may be in the works. The recession continues, with unemployment hitting record highs and no one really sure when and if the nation’s economy will bounce back.

The latest Zogby Interactive survey shows President Barack Obama’s job performance rating has fallen slightly to 49%. Just over a year ago, former President George W. Bush hit a record low of just 21% in Zogby telephone polling as he neared the end of his second term and the November election loomed.

While our latest polling shows 42% of likely voters say the nation is headed in the right direction and 51% believe it is off on the wrong track, Americans were much more pessimistic about the state of the country a year ago. In October of last year, three in four Americans believe the country was headed on the wrong track and just 18% believed the U.S. was headed in the right direction. A year ago, under the Bush administration, there was strong dissatisfaction with the direction the country was headed from all sides of the political spectrum – 84% of Democrats, 79% of self-identified political independents, and even 64% of Republicans felt this way. Fast forward to today, under the Obama administration, and views on the direction the country is headed have become increasingly partisan. Our latest survey shows while 90% of Republicans believe the U.S. is on the wrong track, just 15% of Democrats feel the same. Among independents, 55% believe the country is on the wrong track.

Do you think the country is better off today than at this time last year, and has the change in administrations made a difference either way? Do you think American will be in a better or worse place a year from now?

Steph Uncategorized economy, employment, health, Obama, recession, war, work, zogby

There is no shortage of opinions about the state of healthcare in America. Some insist we need a public option while others cry “socialism”. Many blame insurance companies for being “greedy”, and the debate rages on about requiring everyone to purchase insurance, what to do for Americans with pre-existing conditions and of course, the big question – what it will all cost?

A recent Zogby Interactive survey shows that healthcare in the U.S. is not so much an issue of people dissatisfied with the quality of care, but that most believe that care costs too much. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (63%) rate the quality of healthcare in the United States as “excellent” or “good”, but less than half (43%) believe U.S. healthcare is a excellent or good value. Older Americans are among those most likely to give American healthcare high marks for quality – 70% of those age 65 and older rate is positively, with nearly a third (32%) who believe U.S. healthcare is “excellent” in terms of quality. Among First Globals™, 22% give American healthcare “excellent” marks for quality.

This question regarding the quality of American healthcare also showed a stark political divide – just 7% of Democrats would rate the quality of healthcare in the U.S. as excellent, compared to more than half of Republicans (53%) and nearly a third of political independents (30%). Nearly a third of Democrats (31%) give the quality of American healthcare a poor rating, compared to just 3% of Republicans and 14% of independents. Political affiliation showed similar division when respondents were asked about healthcare value – Republicans (72%) overwhelmingly believe it is an excellent or good value, while Democrats are much more likely (77%) to give the value of healthcare in the U.S. a fair or poor rating.

How would you rate the quality and value of healthcare in America? What do you think are the best options for improving both?

Steph Uncategorized first globals, health, zogby

There’s a new president in office, but a new Zogby-Scoop 44 interactive survey shows nearly half of likely voters – 47% — put the blame for the nation’s current job losses squarely on the previous administration. While it comes as no surprise that Democrats are quick to find fault with the Bush administration and Republicans are much more likely to believe the policies of the Obama administration are largely responsible for the current unemployment figures, political independents are much more closely divided. Independent likely voters are slightly more likely to blame Bush administration policies (42%) than Obama administration policies (36%), and nearly one in five (18%) said neither administrations’ policies are the cause of rising unemployment.

The vast majority of those who believe the country is now headed in the right direction – 93% — believe that the previous administration is to blame for the country’s current job woes. Those who believe the country is on the wrong track, however, take the opposite view – 70% who think the U.S. is headed in the wrong direction also believe Obama administration policies are directly responsible for the nation’s job losses since he took office in January.

The survey also found that most 18- to 29-year-olds blame the economic policies of the Bush administration for the nation’s continued job losses, a demographic that Alexander Heffner expands on at Scoop 44.

Those from less –affluent households are most likely to blame Bush administration policies for the country’s job losses – nearly two-thirds of those with less than $25,000 in household income (62%) say the previous administration is responsible  for job losses. As household income increases, likely voters are less likely to put the blame on Bush, but likely voters from all income levels are more likely to believe the Bush administration is more at fault than the Obama administration. Among those who have $100,000 or more in household income, 40% think the Bush administration is mostly to blame, but just as many (40%) think the policies of the Obama administration have primarily contributed to the nation’s job losses.

Do you believe the nation’s job losses are more the fault of the Bush or Obama administrations, or is neither administration at fault? As we get further along into Obama’s presidency, do you believe more people will hold the current administration’s policies responsible if job losses continue, or do you think Bush will continue to shoulder the brunt of the blame?

Steph Uncategorized employment, Obama, zogby

A college degree doesn’t come cheap. When you add up the cost of tuition, room and board, books, and various fees, many of today’s college graduates (and their parents) can look forward to years of hefty student loan payments. Not such a big deal for those who have degrees in high-paying fields who are able to quickly find employment. But for those who graduate and have a tough time finding a job in their desired field or who take a job in a field with a low salary, crushing educational debt can make it hard to get ahead. A recent article in USA Today highlights the struggles of college students trying to get the best educational bang for their buck – including abandoning their expensive “dream schools” and giving a hard look at the option of attending less expensive state schools and community colleges.

While most agree that a college degree is worth the cost, we were surprised to find a new Zogby-Scoop44 poll showed that among those with college degrees, 25% don’t think a degree is worth it today given the high price of attendance. That’s a pretty significant number coming from those who know first-hand about the costs and benefits of having a college degree. But it’s also important to note that we asked about the cost and benefit of a college degree today – many respondents likely earned their degrees when the cost to attend college was much less.

Over at Scoop44, Alexander Heffner gets the perspective of some current college students and professors on the subject of today’s high college costs including, Patricia Graham, a longtime professor of history and education at Columbia University’s Teacher’s College, who cautions: “Making more money, though, is not the only reason to go to college.”

Making more money certainly isn’t the only value in earning a college degree, but as college costs continue to rise and the overall economy struggles, many prospective college students may be doing the math to determine if a high-priced degree is worth the expense. Do you think a college degree is worth it today? At what point, if any, do you think a college degree becomes too costly and do you think college costs will ever reverse the trend and become more affordable?

Steph education economy, education, employment, history, recession, war, zogby

As President Barack Obama works to put the focus on healthcare reform, Americans are split about the job he has done in his first months in office, a new Zogby Interactive telephone/online hybrid survey shows. Half of Americans give Obama’s job performance a positive rating, with 26% rating his job as “excellent” and 24% rating it as “good.” But nearly as many are dissatisfied with his actions thus far in office and give Obama a negative job performance rating. Fourteen percent say he is doing a “fair” job as president and 35% say he is doing a “poor” job. (Zogby uses a four-point scale of excellent, good, fair and poor, and aggregates excellent and good to determine positive ratings.)
This most recent hybrid poll shows little change from an exclusively online poll conducted in late May and early June which showed Obama’s positive job performance numbers at 51%, down a point from mid-April. That poll showed 14% gave Obama a rating of fair and 36% poor. When asked specifically if overall, they approve or disapprove of Obama’s job as president, 51% of likely voters approve while 42% disapprove. Another 7% are not sure.
“No matter which you cut it – four-way scale or two-way scale – Obama’s approval numbers have taken a bit of a hit,” says Zogby International President and CEO John Zogby. “Looking at it closely this should not be surprising with lots of crises all requiring attention and solutions all at once and an opposition ready to stir up criticism and fear about the unknown – and there is plenty that is unknown. Polling showing that two in five Americans identify themselves as conservative. And expectations are high to do something, though there is little agreement on how to do it and a congressional system that is on automatic hyper-partisan pilot.”
The Zogby International hybrid telephone/online survey of 3,728 likely voters nationwide was conducted from June 12-18, 2009, and includes 3,133 interviews completed interactively and 595 interviews conducted by telephone. The margin of error is +/- 1.6 percentage points.

Republicans (69%), McCain voters (70%), and conservatives (75%) are most likely to give Obama a “poor” rating in this latest survey, while about half of Democrats (49%), Obama voters (47%), and liberals (51%) believe the President has done an “excellent” job so far.
“Frankly, it is a wonder that any President is doing as well. His personal favorability continues to prop him up,” Zogby says.
How would you rate Obama’s performance as President so far and has he met your earlier expectations (positive or negative)? What do you think has been his greatest accomplishment – or disappointment – since taking office?

Steph Uncategorized health, international, John Zogby, Obama, work, zogby

Bans on talking or texting while driving are becoming more common in states and counties across the U.S., and past Zogby Interactive surveys find as many as 83% of Americans support driving while texting bans, while more than half agree talking on a cell phone should be banned – even with a headset.

For many drivers, it comes down to the issue of distraction – nearly everyone can recall a time when they’ve seen another driver paying more attention to their conversation than traffic while chatting away on a cell phone. “Traffic texters” may be harder to spot if a cell phone is held down low, but at least one hand is required to type and checking for a reply could take a driver’s eyes off the road. But are these talking or texting driving distractions any worse than eating, smoking, or adjusting the stereo while driving? What about monitoring a GPS navigation system, or keeping an eye on unruly pets or restless children in the backseat? For 22% of respondents in a September 2007 Zogby Interactive poll, typing, sending or receiving text massages was considered the most dangerous driving distraction, and another 10% said talking on a cell phone without a headset created the most dangerous driving situation – even more dangerous than being drunk or impaired by drugs while behind the wheel (58% said being drunk or high while driving was most dangerous).

Do you think texting or talking on a cell phone while driving is as great or more of a cause for concern than drunk driving? Should current laws in some states and counties banning texting or using a cell phone while driving be expanded to include other driving distractions or should these bans never have been passed in the first place?

Steph communication, lifestyles drugs, zogby

Despite an increase in the number of Americans who believe the country is headed in the right direction (40% in our latest Zogby Interactive poll, compared to just 14% at the beginning of the year), nearly half still think the country is on the wrong track. The split is extremely partisan, with 71% of Democrats who say the country is headed in the right direction, compared to 86% of Republicans who believe just the opposite — that the U.S. is off on the wrong track. Both parties have become even more entrenched in their views about the country’s direction since the start of the year.

Similar polarization among the parties can be seen when it comes to opinions of President Barack Obama – both personally and regarding his job performance so far. The vast majority of Democrats (93%) take a very or somewhat favorable personal view of Obama, compared to just 14% of Republicans. Opinions on the president’s job performance are also anything but bi-partisan – 90% of fellow Democrats give him “excellent” or “good” job performance marks, compared to just 11% of Republicans.

“Look, these are not good numbers. While the Democrats are on a high, Republicans appear to be embittered and ready for war. It seems as if the last thing the country wants and needs is a return to the red vs. blue,” said John Zogby, President & CEO of Zogby International. “The President’s job approval numbers were up in other polls last week, but our scale of using “excellent” and “good” shows him at 52%, and I believe that’s right. Were his numbers now at 68%, as other polls had him last week, he’d be ramming his program through with bi-partisan backing and not be worrying about bi-partisanship at all. Clearly, Obama’s numbers are still good in the face of a huge crisis, and there’s been a stark improvement in the right direction/wrong direction numbers, but confidence has not been restored. If we follow the FDR historical model, President Obama himself is on the right track, but more healing and more inspiration of confidence is still required.”

Steph John Zogby, future, politics international, John Zogby, Obama, polls, war, zogby

In the past year, many Americans have faced a new economy filled with pink slips, pay cuts, or constant worry about their investment losses. As uncertainty about the nation’s economic situation grows, many have reacted by making some big changes in where they spend their money.

The first to go, nearly across the board, has been the “gravy” in household budgets – the meals out, trips to the movies, and other entertainment and recreation spending. Our latest survey found 70% have cut back on their entertainment expenses – another 40% have changed or canceled their vacation plans and 40% have put off a major purchase such as a new car, electronics or a computer.

Even as many Americans learn to make do without upgrading to the latest electronic gadget or find less expensive or free entertainment alternatives, others have had to make cuts to more essential areas of their budgets, including grocery spending (40%), medical care (16%) and education (9%).

Thinking about your personal financial situation, have the current conditions in the U.S. economy caused you to cut back on your spending in any of these areas? When you think about your own household budget, what’s the first thing to go if you need to cut back?

Steph consumption, economics, lifestyles economy, education, electronics, entertainment, recreation, vacation

Zogby’s latest interactive poll shows just 27% of likely voters believe they or their families will personally benefit from the recently passed federal economic stimulus bill, and John Zogby isn’t surprised:

“I’ve said right along that Americans are not fond of any of the recent proposals – they all involve pain and will spend billions and billions of dollars,” Zogby said. “Our past polling has shown that Americans have a serious mistrust of the government, and the details of these plans are not all that popular. But the president is very popular, and Americans are showing they support him by his poll numbers. Even if they don’t support all the specifics, they know that something needs to be done.”

This survey was completed just before President Barack Obama’s address to a joint meeting of Congress on the state of the U.S. economy Tuesday night. Self-described liberals were one of the only groups where more than half (60%) believe they will personally gain from the new stimulus bill – with Democrats (48%) and those age 18 to 24 (38%) more optimistic than most. Others are highly skeptical about what good the stimulus will do for them personally, regardless of how the bill may help the nation as a whole – most notably Republicans (88%), political independents (62%), conservatives (91%), and 65% of those from the poorest households (less than $25,000).

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Steph Uncategorized economy, John Zogby, Obama, zogby