A certain segment of the Republican party wants to make the 2012 election about social issues. The Obama administration would be very happy if the election was focused on social issues rather than on his presidential record when it comes to the economy. Polls show that the major problems facing this country, (as viewed by the American people), is about the economy. Social issues such as abortion, same sex marriage, and the environment are not considered to be pressing issues by most Americans. I did some on-line research, and here's what's going on in the country both economically and socially based on Gallup polls ranging from 1 to 10 year studies:
•Only 13% of Americans are satisfied with the nation's economy.
•Unemployment has decreased from 10.3% in Feb 2011 to 9% in Feb 2012.
•In the spring of 2011 60 to 69% of Americans favor off-shore drilling with 77% saying gas prices are extremely important.
•The majority (56%) still favor nuclear power plants and think U.S. nuclear power plants are safe.
•Raising the debt ceiling is still viewed as unfavorable by 42%
•Over 40% of Americans believe that the health spending bill (Obamacare) will make things worse.
• 50% of Americans think abortion should be legal only under some circumstances
• 64% think Gay rights should be legal
• 60% find same sex marriage morally acceptable
• 41% favor developing fossil fuel over saving the environment
• 48% think the environment is getting worse down 20% from 2008
• 43% believe that global warming statistics are exaggerated
ECONOMY
January 23, 2012
Americans' satisfaction with the state of the nation's economy has dropped by 23 percentage points since January 2008 to 13%, according to a Jan. 5-8, 2012 Gallup poll.
These figures represent both the lowest rate of satisfaction and the biggest decline seen for any of 24 issues measured in the survey.
Attitudes toward the moral and ethical climate and the size and power of the federal government are similar to each other. Slightly fewer than 3 in 10 Americans are satisfied with each, down from about 4 in 10 in
2008, the last presidential election year and the last time Gallup measured satisfaction on all 24 items.
Americans' satisfaction with the size and power of government has declined fairly steadily since January 2002, just months after 9/11 and at a time when Americans were positive about most things relating to the government. Confidence in the economy has dropped sharply since 2008 after fluctuating between 2002 and 2007. Confidence in the moral and ethical climate was flat through January 2008, before falling to the new low.
At least half of Americans are also satisfied with the influence of organized religion, the opportunity to get ahead through hard work, the state of race relations, the quality of the environment, the nation's gun laws, and the nation's policies to reduce or control crime.
Satisfaction has been stable on all of these except satisfaction with the opportunity to get ahead through hard work, which has fallen 15 points since 2008, paralleling the sharp decline in satisfaction with the economy.
Unemployment
March 3, 2011
Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, hit 10.3% in February -- up from 9.8% at the end of January. The U.S. unemployment rate is now essentially the same as the 10.4% at the end of February 2010.
February 2012
Regardless of what the government reports, Gallup's unemployment and underemployment measures show a sharp deterioration in job market conditions since mid-January. The U.S. unemployment rate, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, is 9.0% in mid-February, up from 8.6% for January.
This is consistent with a similar decline in Gallup's Job Creation Index to +13 in the second week of February, from +16 for January. It is also consistent with an economy that continues to struggle with modest growth, particularly as gas prices surge. Further, it suggests that it is premature to assume the condition of the economy will not remain a major issue for Americans both financially and politically in 2012.
Energy
Off Shore Drilling
•Americans are deeply concerned about rising prices. April 2011 polling by AP-GfK/Roper shows that 77 percent say gas prices are extremely/very important to them, ranking fifth out of 14 other issues. Sixty-four percent told CNN/ORC pollsters in March that gas price increases had caused financial hardship for their household.
•After the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded on April 20, 2010, attitudes towards offshore drilling soured. A plurality of 48% told AP-GfK pollsters in August 2010 that they favored "increasing drilling for oil and gas in coastal areas around the United States". 36% were opposed.
60% in a March 2011 Gallup poll favored increasing offshore drilling for oil and gas in coastal areas; 37% were opposed.
In an April 2011 CNN/ORC poll, 45% strongly favored increased drilling for oil and natural gas offshore in U.S. waters, up from 26% who gave that response in 2010. Overall, 69% in the new CNN poll favored increased offshore drilling and 31% were opposed.
Nuclear Power
•Attitudes towards nuclear power have grown more negative in the wake of the problems at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant in Japan.
While March 2011 Gallup polling shows more in favor (56 percent) than opposed (38 percent) to the use of nuclear energy to generate electricity, polling from CBS and CNN/ORC shows more opposition that support to building more nuclear power plants. Americans appear to believe that U.S. nuclear power plants are safe.
Debt Ceiling
July 12, 2011
Despite agreement among leaders of both sides of the political aisle in Washington that raising the U.S. debt ceiling is necessary, more Americans want their member of Congress to vote against such a bill than for it, 42% vs. 22%, while one-third are unsure. This 20-percentage-point edge in opposition to raising the debt ceiling in Gallup's July 7-10, 2011 poll is slightly less than the 28-point lead (47% vs. 19%) seen in May.
Obamacare
March 24, 2011
• Two thirds of Americans believe the Democrats health spending bill would make things worse (37%) or make no difference (29%) for themselves and their families.
• A majority of Americans believe the bill will make things worse (44%) or maintain the status quo (13%) for the United States, while only 39% see any benefit for the country.
• Only a third (33%) see a benefit for middle-income families, while most believe those families’ situation will get worse (44%) or see no benefit (17%).
• Most Americans see no benefit for doctors and hospitals while a plurality believe the bill will make things worse for both.
• Despite all the tough talk about tacking insurance companies, only 51% believe the bill will make things worse for insurance companies.
• Most Americans believe the bill will help (34%) or maintain current status (18%) for pharmaceutical companies.
SOCIAL ISSUES
Abortion
2001 May 10-14- Legal under any circumstances- 26%, Legal only under certain circumstances- 58%, Illegal in all circumstances- 15%, No opinion- 1%
2011 May 5-8- Legal under any circumstances- 27%, Legal only under certain circumstances- 50%, Illegal in all circumstances- 22%, No opinion- 2%
According to these polls whether abortion should be legal or not hasn't changed much over a ten year period. The majority of people still agree that it should be legal in some circumstances down 8%.
Gay Rights
2001 May 10-14- Should be legal- 54%, Should not be legal- 42%, No opinion- 4%
2011 May 5-8- Should be legal- 64%, Should not be legal- 32%, No opinion- 4%
Same Sex Marriage
2001 May 10-14- Morally acceptable- 53%, Morally wrong- 42%, Depends on situation- 3%, (vol.) Not a moral issue- 1%, (vol.) No opinion- 1%
2011 May 5-8- Morally acceptable- 60%, Morally wrong- 36%, Depends on situation- 1%, (vol.) Not a moral issue- *, (vol.) No opinion- 3%
The Environment
•For only the second time since the question was asked in 1984, more respondents (41%) told Gallup that they would prioritize economic growth over the environment "even if the environment suffers to some extent."
•In a March 2011 Gallup poll, 48% said the quality of the environment nationally is getting worse. In 2008, 68% gave that response.
Global Warming
•When the Pew Research Center updated its yearly poll in January 2011, 26% said global warming should be a top priority. Only "dealing with obesity in this country" ranked lower out of the twenty-two issues Pew asked about.
•In a March 2011 Gallup poll, 43% said that what was said about global warming in the news was generally exaggerated. This is down slightly from 2010 (48%), but up considerably since the question was first asked in November 1997 (31%).
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