As the year-end draws nearer, polling organizations provide
a look into the likes and dislikes of Americans.
**The Gallup organization’s daily tracking poll of December
16-18 shows that only 23 percent of Americans are satisfied with the direction
of the country. Not surprisingly, a breakdown shows that 38 percent of
Democrats and 21 percent of independents said they were satisfied with the way
things were going in the U.S. throughout 2014, compared with just 10 percent of
Republicans.
**The U-3 unemployment rate stands at 5.9 percent and the
underemployed rate at 14.9 percent, based on Gallup’s thirty-day rolling
average, and President Obama’s approval rating stands at 43 percent approval to
52 percent disapproval, having moved from a virtual tie at 46 percent in August
of last year.
**Gallup finds Congress just a hair higher than its all-time
record low approval rating of 14 percent, at 15 percent. Just 13 years ago
Congress was rated at a record 56 percent, but its rating has not been higher
than 20 percent in the last five years, or in six of the last seven years.
**A Rassmussen poll found that 86 percent of U.S. adults are
proud to be Americans, and 92 percent believe that U.S. citizenship is very
important. However, only 40 percent of voters like President Obama’s unilateral
amnesty for up to five million illegal aliens to remain in the country. Roughly
half think the U.S. will suffer because of the amnesty and that it will increase
illegal immigration.
**The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index tracks daily how Americans
evaluate their lives on the Cantril Self-Anchoring Striving Scale. The Index
shows 55 percent are thriving, 42 percent struggling, 4 percent suffering, and
12 percent are under stress.
**A USA Today poll in November asked whether respondents
favor approval of the Keystone XL pipeline project. By 60 percent to 25
percent, respondents favor approving the project, with 14 percent unsure.
**On its Website, Gallup notes “U.S. federal government
workers are less engaged than the rest of the U.S. workforce. On average, 27 percent
of federal government employees are engaged in their jobs in 2014, compared
with 31 percent of all other workers in the U.S. With more than 2 million
federal employees, this lack of engagement is costing the federal government an
estimated $18 billion in lost productivity annually, or approximately $9,000
per employee.”
Gallup says that engaged employees feel connected to their
organization and work to move it forward, while those who are not engaged may
meet the expectations of their job, but don’t do anything extra for it, and
those who are actively disengaged actually undermine their engaged co-workers. “Those
federal government employees who are actively disengaged, combined with those
employees who are not engaged, translates into 11 percent lost productivity
across the government, according to a Gallup analysis. This suggests that
nearly $9,000 of the average $78,467 federal employee salary is not producing
benefits for the agency or the general public.”
**A Rassmussen Reports poll found that respondents believe
America’s Founders would view the nation today as a failure by a margin of 46
percent to 36 percent, with 18 percent being unsure. The Founders, a group that
includes Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and James Madison, would not
approve of what is going on in America today, according to this poll, and it is
comforting to note that contemporary Americans agree with the Founders. But,
will this dissatisfaction actually lead to a return to the founding principles
of limited government and a high level of personal liberty?
**Fully 78 percent of participants like the health care they
received before the Affordable Care Act/Obamacare was passed, but they believe
that the health care they have been getting in recent years will get worse
under Obamacare.
**Gallup found that among 11 professions nurses have the
highest honesty and ethical standards, with 80 percent ranking them high or
very high. Doctors, pharmacists, police officers and clergy round out the top
five, while Members of Congress rank last at 7 percent.
**A Rassmussen poll in April reflected that 54 percent of
participants consider the federal government a threat to individual liberty,
while just 22 percent see government as a protector of individual rights, a
number that stood at 30 percent five months earlier. Thirty-seven percent
actually fear the federal government, while 47 percent do not, and 17 percent
are uncertain.
**Gallup asked public school teachers if they have
experienced each of seven possible emotional reactions to the Common Core State
Standards (Worried, Frustrated, Resigned to it, Hopeful, Confident, Angry, or
Enthusiastic), and 65 percent said Worried, 62 percent said Frustrated, and 57
percent said Resigned to it, while only 20 percent said Enthusiastic, 24
percent said Angry, and 27 percent said Confident. Forty-nine percent said they
were Hopeful.
Where parents of public school students are concerned, 35
percent view Common Core negatively, 33 percent view it positively, and 32
percent aren’t familiar with it or don’t have an opinion. Gallup found a shift
toward negative feelings since April when 35 percent were positive and 28
percent were negative.
Best wishes to all for a Happy Chanukah and a Merry
Christmas!
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