An interesting Gallup poll shows Government Itself Still Cited as Top U.S. Problem
Mentions of the government as the top problem remain higher than they were prior to the partial government shutdown in October. During the shutdown, the percentage naming the government as the top problem doubled to 33% from 16% in September.
Compared with a year ago, mentions of government are up slightly. Mentions of healthcare, on the other hand, have quadrupled — from 4% in January 2013 to 16% today, likely related to highly visible problems with the rollout of the 2010 healthcare law. At the same time, references to the federal deficit or debt have declined from 20% to 8%, while mentions of the economy in general have dipped from 21% to 18%, and mentions of unemployment/jobs are the same, at 16%.
Overall Results
By Political Party
Additional breakdowns in the report.
If one lumped the economy and unemployment together, the percentage would be 34% overall, 31% by Republicans, 37% by Independents, and 34% by Democrats.
Curiously, lack of money and rich-poor gap were low across the board despite all the protests for higher minimum wages and despite all the media and presidential touting of wage gaps.
Mike “Mish” Shedlock
