State of the Union: Tip Sheets from the Pew Research Center
Are you watching the President’s address tonight? We’ve pulled together key Pew Research findings across 10 topics that Obama is likely to discuss. Get the data so you can follow along. Here are the highlights:
The Economy
- The economy and jobs remain the public’s top two priorities for the White House and Congress.
- 57% of Americans (and 74% of Republicans) say that President Obama won the battle over the “fiscal cliff.”
- Americans took a dim view of the fiscal cliff deal, saying it would hurt: the economy (46%), people like themselves (52%), efforts to curb the deficit (44%).
- Read more about Pew Research findings on the economy
Debt and Deficit
- 72% of Americans now say reducing the deficit is a top priority, up from 53% in Jan. 2009, including 84% of Republicans, 67% of Democrats and 71% of independents.
- Majorities of Americans oppose most deficit reduction measures, including reducing funding for education (77% disapprove), reducing transportation funding (67%) and reducing funding to help low-income people (58%).
- There are wide partisan gaps on many debt reduction proposals, including reducing military defense spending (+35 points Democrats) and reducing funding to help low-income people (+29 points Republicans).
- 74% say a combination of program cuts and tax increases is the best way to reduce the deficit.
- Read more about Pew Research findings on the debt and deficit
The Middle Class
- The median income for a middle-income, three-person household fell to $69,487 in 2010 from $72,956 in 2000 (in 2011 dollars.) Median net worth among the middle-income tier fell 28% to $93,150 in 2010 from $129,582 in 2000.
- 85% of those in the middle class say it is more difficult today than a decade ago to maintain their standard of living.
- The middle class blamed their difficulties on: Congress (62%), banks and financial institutions (54%) and large corporations (47%).
- Middle-class adults say they are: Democrats (34%), Republicans (25%) and independents (35%); conservative (39%), moderate (35%) and liberal (22%).
- Read more about Pew Research findings on the middle class
Gun Control
- 51% of Americans say it is more important to control gun ownership, while 45% say it is more important to protect gun rights.
- 47% say mass shootings reflect broader societal problems, 44% call them isolated acts of troubled individuals.
- There is broad public support for background checks for private and gun show sales (85%) and laws preventing the mentally ill from purchasing guns (80%).
- There are large partisan divides on creating a federal database to track gun sales (35-point gap, Democrats favor), implementing a ban on assault-style weapons (25-point gap, Democrats favor) or having more teachers and school officials with guns in schools (33-point gap, Republicans favor).
- Read more about Pew Research findings on gun control
U.S. Foreign Policy
- 83% of Americans say that “we should pay less attention to problems overseas and concentrate on problems here at home,” up 10 points since 2002.
- 40% say the U.S. relies on military strength too much to achieve its foreign policy goals, 44% say about the right amount and 10% say too little.
- 63% say the U.S. should be less involved in Middle East leadership changes.
- Americans largely approve of the use of drones to target extremists, unlike most other nations surveyed.
- 71% say defending the nation from terrorism is a top priority.
- 60% support withdrawing troops from Afghanistan “as soon as possible.”
- Read more about Pew Research findings on foreign policy
U.S.-China Relations
- Americans now favor getting tougher with China (49%) over strengthening relations (42%) when it comes to economic policy.
- A median of 42% of countries now say China is the world’s leading economic power; 36% named the United States.
- Americans are more concerned about China’s economic strength (59%) than about its military strength (28%).
- 68% of Americans distrust China and 66% see it as a competitor.
- Chinese views of the U.S. have also turned negative (48% unfavorable, 43% favorable).
- Read more about Pew Research findings on U.S.-China relations
U.S.-Middle East Relations
- 57% of Americans do not believe the changes in the Middle East will lead to lasting improvements for people living in the affected countries.
- 63% of Americans say they want the U.S. less involved in Middle East leadership changes.
- 63% of Americans say the U.S. does not have a responsibility to do something about the fighting in Syria.
- 50% of the public sympathizes more with Israel, 10% sympathize more with the Palestinians, 13% say neither side and 4% say both.
- Read more about Pew Research findings on U.S.-Middle East relations
Immigration
- 39% of Americans say “dealing with illegal immigration” should be a top priority, ranking the issue 17th out of 21 issues.
- 42% of Americans prioritize both enhanced border security and a path to citizenship for unauthorized immigrants.
- The total immigrant population has grown to 40.4 million in 2011, while unauthorized immigration declined to 11.1 million.
- 36% of eligible Mexican immigrants have become natural U.S. citizens, half the rate of of legal immigrants from all other countries combined.
- Net migration to the U.S. from Mexico fell to zero in 2011 and may have reversed.
- Read more about Pew Research findings on immigration
Climate Change
- 28% of Americans say global warming is a top priority, ranking the issue last on this year’s list of 21 policy priorities.
- 67% of Americans believe there is solid evidence of global warming, including 91% of liberal Democrats and 43% of conservative Republicans.
- 42% of Americans attribute global warming mostly to human activity, while 19% say it is mostly due to natural patterns.
- Read more about Pew Research findings on climate change
Gay Marriage
- 48% of Americans favor gay marriage and 43% oppose it.
- Younger generations express higher levels of support (Millennials, 63%; Generation X, 52%), compared with older ones (Baby Boomers, 41%; Silent Generation, 33%).
- The religiously unaffiliated express the highest levels of support (73%), while white evangelical Protestants express the lowest (19%).
- Support varies widely by region and is strongest in New England (62%) and weakest in the South Central (35%).
- Read more about Pew Research findings on gay marriage
Browse all of our State of the Union tip sheets:
Economy | Middle Class | Gun Control | U.S.-China Relations | U.S.-Middle East Relations | Immigration | Climate Change | Gay Marriage | Debt and Deficit | U.S. Foreign Policy
Relevant info.
"Karl Rove, founder of one of the biggest Republican groups, American Crossroads, recently said the group would spend $32 million to keep the party’s House majority. The group intends to spend money on research, direct mail and calls, and polling, along with ads."
~ from an editorial in today’s NY Times. American Crossroads is a Super PAC. That statement alone leaves me agape at the fact that people really believe this is a democracy. One worth replicating in other parts of the world no less.
I’m currently in Dehradun and posted this over at the FJP this morning.
Daughters Are Precious
My morning reading in the Hindustan Times today. A new column by actor-activist Amir Khan. He writes:
Every conceivable reason that I have come across during our research of people explaining why they want a boy and not a girl as a daughter does not seem to make any sense to me. For instance, “if we have a girl then at the time of her marraige we have to pay dowry”, or “a girl cannot perform the last rites after the death of her parents, or near and dear ones”, or “the girl can’t take the vansh, or family forward”…All these are man-made reasons. We have created dowry and are now killing the girl child as if she is responsible for it. We have decided for ourselves that girls can’t perform last rites and then we say the girl is to blame.”
FJP: Agreed, approved, and happy to see this in a newspaper.
Afghan War: What is the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement?
It’s a document with a pretty intimidating name, that’s for sure. Obama’s trip to Afghanistan early Wednesday local time seemed loaded with mystery — few knew he was there until he was actually there. He was there to sign a document that many watching the news had no idea existed until today. And the document itself is the definition of how a long-standing war will finally end, thirteen years after it started — at least as far as combat troops go. This document, just eight pages, was so important that the White House had to release a fact sheet to explain it to the average joe. What does it mean to you, anyway? Here are three things you should take from the Enduring Strategic Partnership Agreement:
- one The U.S. government will continue to help the Afghan government train its security forces even after combat troops leave the country in 2014, with the goal of giving the entire region stability.
- two The U.S. will continue to fund security and development efforts in the country, but not by default — the president has to ask Congress for a new round of funding each year.
- three This effort goes both ways — Afghanistan is on the hook to improve the transparency and effectiveness of the government, while respecting the civil rights of its people. source
» So what’s the end date? The end of the document says this clearly: “It shall remain in force until the end of 2024.” (It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time this end date has been bandied about.) Which means, at that rate, the events around the Afghan War will be completely said and done 23 years after it started, though combat troops should be long gone. Hopefully.
"But for younger voters, especially first-time voters, many are proud of Zay Yar Thaw, one of the four pioneers of Hip-Hop music in Myanmar, who won a seat for NLD."
~ Myanmar voters celebrated in the streets while netizens on Facebook are expressing their elation over the by-election results which saw an unprecedented landslide victory for the opposition. The world rejoiced over the victory of democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi but for many young voters in Myanmar, another reason for celebration is the election victory of one of the country’s hip-hop music pioneers. (via globalvoices) (via globalvoices)
"The reality is that there have never been as few wars as there are today. Humankind has never been as healthy or as wealthy. Our contemporary techno-media wonderland means that whenever a disaster occurs, almost anywhere in the world, we know about it within hours. Only recently, we heard about a cruise ship sinking off the coast of Italy, a shooting incident in Belgium, and a bushfire in Western Australia. Our brains are not really wired to accommodate such a proliferation of bad news, regardless of it happening thousands of miles away. One disaster after another compounds, and increases feelings of helplessness. Does that mean that on some level we’ve lost our way? Absolutely not. But what it does mean is that we need to realize that with the ever-increasing media outlets, we must be vigilant in maintaining our own personal view of happiness."
~ Martin Lindstrom in his recent Fast Company article, How To Be Happy Anywhere
"Journalism is a manifestation of a basic human urge to know and to communicate our knowledge to others. Such an essential impulse is impossible to fully repress."
~ Joel Simon in the Committee to Protect Journalists’ Annual Report. Via The AtlanticCPJ’s findings reflect a profound shift toward reliance on Internet advocacy. “Blogging, video sharing and text messaging from cellphones now bring news from some of the most oppressive countries to the rest of the world,” the annual survey concludes, “Yet the technology used to report the news has been matched in many ways by the tools used to suppress information.” In Syria, for example, CPJ says, there is a practice that computer experts call “rubber-hose cryptanalysis,” which means, bluntly, the use of force to extract critical data from activists, including passwords and log-in details. As 2012 unfolds, the likelihood is that the governments and regimes where civil strife continues will keep up the pressure on journalists, and social media will defy the attempts to suppress it.
SOPA & PIPA explained. This is too important to ignore. See also: http://defendtheinter.net/ Please watch/read & share!
What and Who to Read on Libya
Click the link for a GOOD collection of sources on Libya for those who just don’t know where to start.
The snapshot above shows mainstream news coverage of the famines currently ravaging the people of Somalia and the Horn of Africa. The data, taken from Google, contrast the media attention paid to recent incidents such as the Norway shooting, the phone hacking scandal in the U.K., and the Congressional battle to raise the debt ceiling.
Some 500,000 Somali children are reported to be on the verge of starvation, due to the most severe drought conditions in the region in two decades. Today The New York Times ran a graphic photo of a starving child on its front cover, with executive editor Bill Keller telling Salon, ”I know many readers found the picture disturbing. That’s good. The deaths of thousands of Somali children ought to disturb us, at least.”
With the debt fight over, will a shift in the media’s attention be enough to help the millions of vulnerable Somali’s and their neighbors avoid a starvation tragedy? Judging by the response so far, the outlook is grim.
(via futurejournalismproject)
The Media & Iraq
“…little effort has been made to deal with the issue of war reporting, the protection of journalists from mental or physical harm, or the hate, racism and dehumanization that reporting about conflicts produces, even in some of the world’s most professional journalists and media outlets.” (Daoud Kuttab in International Review of the Red Cross, Dec 2007)
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