WPR/ST.
NORBERT COLLEGE
THE WISCONSIN SURVEY – Spring 2010
National Issues
Survey Information:
Random Selection, Landline Telephone Survey
Number of Adult
Interview Period: 3/23/10 – 3/31/10
Margin of Error: +/- 5% at the 95% confidence level.
Contact:
Wendy Scattergood
Assistant Professor of Political Science, St. Norbert College Survey
Center
DePere, WI 54115
(920) 403-3491
·
NOTE:
Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.
What Should Congress Handle Next?
After the health care debate, what do you think Congress’s number one issue should be? (Please probe for specifics). (open-ended)
1.
Economy
and Jobs ........................................................... 49%
2.
Health
Care ........................................................... 15%
3.
Foreign
Policy/National Security....................................... 9%
4.
Budget/Deficit/Debt/Taxes................................................
6%
5.
The
Need to Work Together/Bipartisanship...................
4%
6.
Immigration ...........................................................
2%
7.
Education ...........................................................
1%
8.
Poverty ........................................................... 1%
·
Other
Domestic Issues (each less than 1% of total responses) 3%
·
Don’t
Know/Not Sure..........................................................
6%
·
None ........................................................... <1%
·
Refused ...........................................................
3%
Direction of the Country
Generally speaking, would you say that things in the country are currently going in the right direction, or are they going in the wrong direction?
Right Direction............................................................. 38%
Wrong Direction.......................................................... 55%
Not Sure..................................................................... 7%
Refused....................................................................... 0%
Country is Going in the Right Direction
|
Fall '02 |
47% |
|
Sp '03 |
36% |
|
Fall '03 |
41% |
|
Sp '04 |
32% |
|
Sp '05 |
40% |
|
Fall '05 |
29% |
|
Sp '06 |
24% |
|
Fall '06 |
30% |
|
Sp '07 |
21% |
|
Fall '07 |
22% |
|
Sp '08 |
18% |
|
Fall '08 |
8% |
|
Sp '09 |
41% |
|
Fall '09 |
38% |
|
Sp '10 |
38% |
President
and Congress Approval Ratings
Do you approve or disapprove of how Barack Obama is handling his job as President?
Approve...................................................................... 44%
Disapprove ................................................................. 50%
Not Sure..................................................................... 6%
Refused....................................................................... <1%
Approval Rating for
President Obama
|
Sp '09 |
60% |
|
Fall '09 |
50% |
|
Sp '10 |
44% |
Please tell me whether you approve or
disapprove of the way President Obama is handling each of the following aspects
of his job. Do you approve or disapprove of the way he is handling….
|
|
Approve |
Disapprove |
Not
Sure |
Refused/NA |
|
a. The Situation in |
50% |
38% |
12% |
1% |
|
b. The situation with |
53% |
35% |
12% |
1% |
|
c. issues important to people like you |
43% |
52% |
4% |
<1% |
|
d. The Economy |
37% |
59% |
5% |
0% |
|
e. Health care |
40% |
54% |
5% |
1% |
|
f. Corporate Reform |
29% |
52% |
18% |
1% |
|
g. Energy Security |
42% |
36% |
21% |
1% |
Presidential Approval Ratings by Issue
|
Economy |
Health Care |
|
|
|
Spring 2003 |
33% |
31% |
|
48% |
|
Fall 2003 |
38% |
26% |
|
40% |
|
Spring 2004 |
32% |
24% |
|
35% |
|
Spring 2009 |
49% |
36% |
|
64% |
|
Fall 2009 |
42% |
38% |
47% |
N/A |
|
Spring 2010 |
37% |
40% |
50% |
53% |
Do you approve or disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job?
Approve...................................................................... 14%
Disapprove.................................................................. 76%
Not Sure..................................................................... 9%
Refused....................................................................... <1%
Approval Rating
for Congress
Spring '07 |
37% |
|
Fall '07 |
26% |
|
Spring '08 |
27% |
|
Fall '08 |
16% |
|
Spring '09 |
39% |
|
Spring '10 |
14% |
For the following issues, please tell me
which party in Congress,
Democrats or Republicans, would do a better job handling the issues. ROTATE
|
|
Democrats |
Republicans |
Both – No Difference (vol) |
Neither (vol.) |
Not Sure |
Refused/NA |
|
a. The Economy |
30% |
48% |
4% |
11% |
8% |
<1% |
|
b. Health care |
43% |
41% |
2% |
8% |
6% |
1% |
|
c. Corporate Reform |
33% |
38% |
2% |
11% |
14% |
2% |
|
d. Issues important to people like you |
36% |
42% |
3% |
12% |
7% |
<1% |
The Economy
Compared to a year ago, do you think the
national economy has gotten better, stayed the same, or gotten worse?
Better ........................................................... 42%
Same ........................................................... 23%
Worse ........................................................... 34%
Not Sure ........................................................... 1%
Refused ........................................................... 0%
|
|
Better |
Same |
Worse |
|
Fall '04 |
32% |
28% |
40% |
|
Fall '06 |
27% |
32% |
38% |
|
Fall '08 |
1% |
5% |
93% |
|
Sp '10 |
42% |
23% |
34% |
Would you say that
the economic stimulus bills passed by Congress helped the economy, had no
effect on the economy, or hurt the economy?
Helped.......................................................... 29%
No Effect...................................................... 34%
Hurt ........................................................... 34%
Not Sure....................................................... 4%
Refused......................................................... 0%
How concerned are you that in the next
year you will become unemployed? Are you very concerned, somewhat concerned,
not too concerned or not at all concerned?
Very
Concerned ........................................................... 12%
Somewhat
Concerned ........................................................... 20%
Not
Too Concerned ........................................................... 21%
Not
At All Concerned ........................................................... 25%
Retired
– not in workforce....................................................... 17%
Not
Sure ........................................................... <1%
Refused ........................................................... 4%
Compared to a year ago, do you feel that
you are financially better off now, or worse off now than a year ago?
Better
off now............................................................. 28%
Worse
off now............................................................ 47%
Same
(volunteered)...................................................... 23%
Not
Sure..................................................................... 2%
Refused
/ NA.............................................................. <1%
|
|
Better |
Same |
Worse |
|
Fall '94 |
38% |
34% |
28% |
|
Fall '95 |
36% |
31% |
32% |
|
Fall '96 |
47% |
26% |
25% |
|
Fall '97 |
47% |
28% |
25% |
|
Fall '98 |
45% |
30% |
25% |
|
Fall '99 |
55% |
23% |
21% |
|
Fall '00 |
57% |
23% |
19% |
|
Sp '02 |
35% |
28% |
36% |
|
Fall '02 |
31% |
18% |
50% |
|
Sp '03 |
36% |
20% |
43% |
|
Fall '03 |
37% |
24% |
38% |
|
Sp '04 |
41% |
26% |
32% |
|
Sp '05 |
|
|
|
|
Fall '05 |
|
|
|
|
Sp '06 |
|
|
|
|
Fall '06 |
|
|
|
|
Sp '07 |
|
|
|
|
Fall '07 |
|
|
|
|
Sp '08 |
|
|
|
|
Fall '08 |
20% |
20% |
60% |
|
Sp '09 |
20% |
16% |
63% |
|
Fall '09 |
21% |
25% |
53% |
|
Sp '10 |
28% |
23% |
47% |
|
Median |
37% |
25% |
34% |
Do you expect that at this time NEXT year you will be financially
better off than now, or worse off than now?
Better off than now...................................................... 49%
Worse off than now..................................................... 27%
Same (volunteered)...................................................... 15%
Not Sure..................................................................... 9%
Refused / NA.............................................................. <1%
|
Better |
Same |
Worse |
|
Fall '94 |
50% |
31% |
15% |
|
Fall '95 |
46% |
21% |
26% |
|
Fall '96 |
56% |
19% |
15% |
|
Fall '97 |
54% |
25% |
14% |
|
Fall '98 |
56% |
21% |
17% |
|
Fall '99 |
63% |
15% |
20% |
|
Fall '00 |
64% |
20% |
9% |
|
Sp '02 |
54% |
22% |
15% |
|
Fall '02 |
56% |
13% |
22% |
|
Sp '03 |
53% |
17% |
26% |
|
Fall '03 |
57% |
14% |
22% |
|
Sp '04 |
57% |
19% |
16% |
|
Sp '05 |
42% |
25% |
29% |
|
Fall '05 |
40% |
18% |
38% |
|
Sp '06 |
45% |
24% |
25% |
|
Fall '06 |
56% |
25% |
16% |
|
Sp '07 |
44% |
27% |
25% |
|
Fall '07 |
44% |
21% |
28% |
|
Sp '08 |
47% |
17% |
30% |
|
Fall '08 |
51% |
17% |
20% |
|
Sp '09 |
47% |
14% |
33% |
|
Fall '09 |
53% |
12% |
25% |
|
Sp '10 |
49% |
15% |
27% |
|
Median |
53% |
19% |
22% |
The Health Care Bill
Now familiar do you
feel you are with the contents of the health care reform legislation that was
just signed into to law by President Obama?
Very
Familiar................................................. 10%
Somewhat
Familiar........................................ 50%
Not Too
Familiar........................................... 27%
Not At All
Familiar........................................ 13%
Not Sure....................................................... 1%
Refused......................................................... 0%
Based on what
you have read or heard about this health care legislation, do you generally
favor or oppose it?
Favor ........................................................... 41%
Oppose......................................................... 53%
Not Sure....................................................... 6%
Refused......................................................... <1%
OF THOSE WHO
OPPOSE, do you oppose the health care legislation because you think its
approach to health care goes too far in changing the system, or because you
think it does not go far enough in reforming health care?
Goes Too Far ............................................... 70%
Does Not
Go Far Enough.............................. 14%
Other
(Specify)VOLUNTEERED.................. 9%
(see detail below)
Not Sure....................................................... 6%
Refused......................................................... <1%
OF OTHER…above:
It is too much
government interference........................ 26%
Doesn’t address the
right aspects of health care.......... 18%
No way to pay for
it/too expensive............................. 18%
Both – too far in some
places, not far enough in others 13%
Process was wrong/not
transparent............................ 13%
It won’t work ........................................................... 9%
Don’t agree with it..................................................... 1%
If your member of
Congress voted to pass the health care legislation, what effect will it have on
your vote for their reelection in November? Will it make you more likely to
vote for them, less likely, or have no effect on whether you will vote for them
or not? (all respondents)
More
likely to vote for them........................... 23%
Less
likely to vote for them ........................... 43%
Will have
no effect on their vote .................... 31%
Not Sure....................................................... 3%
Refused......................................................... 1%
If your member of
Congress voted AGAINST the health care legislation, what effect will it have on
your vote for their reelection in November? Will it make you more likely to
vote for them, less likely, or have no effect on whether you will vote for them
or not? (all respondents)
More
likely to vote for them........................... 41%
Less
likely to vote for them ........................... 26%
Will have
no effect on their vote .................... 31%
Not Sure....................................................... 2%
Refused......................................................... <1%