Most Important Problem Facing the Country Today (February 2010)

Most Important Problem Facing the Country Today (February 2010)

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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important.
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categorycolumn-1
The economy30%
Unemployment/jobs18%
Federal spending/national debt16%
Health care10%
Political corruption/leadership9%
National security/terrorism5%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Measurement of Party ID for this figure is based on two questions. First, respondents were asked whether they consider themselves to be a Democrats, Republicans, independents, other, or not sure. Those who responded that they are independents or "other" were then asked if they lean toward either the Democrats or Republicans. If they indicated that they lean toward one party or the other, they are considered Democrats or Republicans for the purposes of this figure. Only "pure" independents or members of a third party who indicate that they have no preference for Democrats vis-a-vis Republicans are considered independents. Respondents who answered that they are "not sure" for either of the two aforementioned questions are not incorporated into this figure.
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categoryDemocratIndependentRepublican
The economy36%27%25%
Unemployment/jobs24%22%11%
Federal spending/national debt5%16%26%
Health care18%9%2%
Political corruption/leadership4%8%15%
National security/terrorism2%4%9%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean RepublicanNot very strong RepublicanStrong Republican
The economy20%31%23%
Unemployment/jobs16%19%6%
Federal spending/national debt34%17%29%
Health care0%4%2%
Political corruption/leadership15%12%17%
National security/terrorism4%4%13%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Party identification is calculated according to the PID7 variable, a seven point scale of party identification.
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categoryLean DemocratNot very strong DemocratStrong Democrat
The economy24%44%35%
Unemployment/jobs17%17%28%
Federal spending/national debt14%7%2%
Health care19%11%20%
Political corruption/leadership16%4%1%
National security/terrorism0%1%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Ideology is measured on a scale of 1-7, with 1 corresponding to "extremely liberal", 7 corresponding to "extremely conservative, and 4 corresponding to "in the middle." For the purposes of this table, respondents who placed themselves at or between points 1 and 3 on the scale are considered "liberal," respondents who placed themselves at point 4 on the scale are considered "moderate," and respondents who placed themselves at or between points 5 and 7 on the scale are considered conservative.
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categoryLiberalsModeratesConservatives
The economy38%30%26%
Unemployment/jobs24%26%12%
Federal spending/national debt5%5%26%
Health care18%16%3%
Political corruption/leadership3%6%14%
National security/terrorism0%4%7%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning conservativeSomewhat conservativeExtremely conservative
The economy27%29%17%
Unemployment/jobs16%9%12%
Federal spending/national debt20%28%30%
Health care7%0%2%
Political corruption/leadership8%16%18%
National security/terrorism3%9%9%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. The ideology measure is based on respondent self-placement in response to the following question: "On a scale from 1 to 7, where 1 is extremely liberal, 7 is extremely conservative, and 4 is exactly in the middle, where would you place yourself?" The placements are further classified such that 1 is extremely liberal, 2 is very liberal, 3 is somewhat liberal, 4 is moderate, 5 is somewhat conservative, 6 is very conservative, and 7 is extremely conservative.
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categoryLeaning liberalSomewhat liberalExtremely liberal
The economy43%29%45%
Unemployment/jobs23%23%28%
Federal spending/national debt9%1%0%
Health care11%24%22%
Political corruption/leadership2%5%0%
National security/terrorism0%0%2%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Tea Party identification is based on the following question, also asked in the survey: "Suppose the Tea Party movement organized itself as a political party. When thinking about the next election for Congress, would you vote for the Republican candidate from your district, the Democratic candidate from your district, or the Tea Party candidate from your district?" Those who responded "Republican candidate" are considered Republicans (non-Tea Party movement) and those who responded "Tea Party candidate" are considered Tea Party Republicans.
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categoryDemocratRepublicanTea Party
The economy36%27%26%
Unemployment/jobs26%8%15%
Federal spending/national debt3%27%26%
Health care19%3%3%
Political corruption/leadership2%16%19%
National security/terrorism2%6%5%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Race is calculated according to the RACE1 variable.
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categoryWhiteBlackHispanic
The economy24%30%45%
Unemployment/jobs17%26%16%
Federal spending/national debt20%2%13%
Health care8%17%8%
Political corruption/leadership12%4%4%
National security/terrorism5%6%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Gender is calculated according to the GENDER variable.
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categoryMaleFemale
The economy26%33%
Unemployment/jobs18%18%
Federal spending/national debt20%12%
Health care8%11%
Political corruption/leadership11%8%
National security/terrorism3%7%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Location is based on the following question, "Would you say that you live in an urban, suburban, or rural community?"
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categoryUrbanSuburbanRural
The economy31%30%27%
Unemployment/jobs22%17%13%
Federal spending/national debt10%19%16%
Health care11%8%11%
Political corruption/leadership6%9%16%
National security/terrorism5%6%3%
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    Respondents were asked, "What would you say is the most important problem facing this country today?" This figure presents the top six problems the public deemed most important. Education is calculated according to the EDUC variable.
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categoryNo high schoolHigh school graduateSome college2-year4-yearPost-grad
The economy47%32%27%23%28%38%
Unemployment/jobs16%16%22%19%16%19%
Federal spending/national debt0%14%15%23%19%16%
Health care24%10%9%12%9%9%
Political corruption/leadership0%11%8%13%9%10%
National security/terrorism13%5%5%4%7%0%

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