The current recession has deeply affected the way Americans view their personal financial situation. In their annual analysis of opinion surveys of Americans, Robert Blendon and John Benson find that nine out of ten Americans have a negative view of the economy and that the economy is hurting...

With this issue, we introduce a new annual survey of Americans' attitudes toward their own lives and the state of the nation. Undertaken by two Harvard researchers and based on both their own surveys and the surveys of others, the analysis finds that Americans' optimism about their individual...

This article is the fifth in an annual series intended to help people gain a deeper insight into how Americans see their own lives. It has become clear that the economy is now weighing heavily on Americans. But they cite different reasons for their concerns. Some are affected more by a lack of...

When asked, many Americans say they are doing well financially. But further details begin to raise doubts. A majority are concerned that they cannot meet the costs of a typical life. It is not the availability of jobs they are so much worried about as the ability to afford what they believe they...

How did Americans view the state of their nation last year? Robert Blendon and John Benson summarize the results of some fifty surveys over the years that cover a range of economic and social issues. At the end of 2005, a large majority of Americans thought the economy was not faring well. Most...

The purpose of this article is to help people interested in economic policy gain a deeper insight into how Americans see their own lives, including economic aspects, and to provide some perspective on how Americans are responding to major events. The authors look at Americans'; views during 2004...

In the past year, an intense public debate has taken place over the role of government in the current sluggish economy, health-care reform, and approaches to taming a growing federal budget deficit. These public conflicts over policy can be characterized in one word: hyperpartisanship.

Americans do not believe that government policies have worked to turn the economy around. They are now deeply pessimistic about the economy's prospects and increasingly disapprove of the Obama administration and Congress. In our annual survey of the nation's views, the authors describe a strong...

Public opinion will not help Congress decide how to deal with the fiscal cliffthe congressional agreement under the Budget Control Act to raise taxes and cut spending in 2013 that could devastate a weak economy if passed. In their annual assessment of American public opinion, the authors find...