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Friday, April 17th, 2015

U.S. Satisfaction Dips Back Below 30% in April

Author:     Lydia Saad
Source:     The Gallup Organization
Publication Date:     April 16, 2015
 Link: U.S. Satisfaction Dips Back Below 30% in April
Stephan:   Almost three-quarters of the American public thinks the country is on the wrong track. Think about that. How can a country thrive when three out of four think it is going in the wrong direction? We are in crisis, largely because of Citizens' United, and I am so glad that Hillary Clinton has made this a campaign issue. Five out-of-touch aging ideologues on the Supreme Court changed the nature of American democracy, and it is time to put an end to that by passing a Constitutional amendment that stops the corrupting influence of private money. I think candidates should collect signatures like any other petition and the top two or three should run with public financing. We should also return to a public service requirement, such as used to exist, for media that uses public airwaves or the net to cover elections.

PRINCETON, N.J. — Twenty-eight percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while 70% are dissatisfied. Satisfaction remains higher than it was for much of 2013 and 2014, but it is down from 31% in March and from 32% in January and February.

Americans' Satisfaction With the Way Things Are Going in the U.S.

Satisfaction Remains Historically Low

At 28%, overall satisfaction with the direction of the country remains on the higher end of what Gallup has recorded since President Barack Obama took office at the start of 2009. However, that range, between 11% and 36%, is still on the low side of what Gallup has recorded since 1979. In the past 36 years, satisfaction twice peaked at or near 70% when the economy was particularly strong — in 1986 and 1999 — and twice at times of high national patriotism: at the start of the Gulf War in 1991 and in the first few months after the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001. Satisfaction hit its low point of 7% in October 2008 as the global financial crisis unfolded and the U.S. stock market plummeted, but also reached low levels in 1979, 1992 […]

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