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President Donald Trump hugs the U.S. flag during CPAC 2019 on March 02, 2019, in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
If you're feeling anger the political system being rigged to benefit those at the top, a new poll reveals you're far from alone.
Released Sunday, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 70 percent of Americans said they felt "angry because our political system seems to only be working for the insiders with money and power." That figure, based on polling conducted Aug. 10-14, is barely different from the 69 percent who said they felt that way in an October 2015 poll.
"Four years ago, we uncovered a deep and boiling anger across the country engulfing our political system," said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, which conducted the survey with the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies. "Four years later, with a very different political leader in place," said Horwitt, "that anger remains at the same level."
Other questions asked by the pollsters reveal more pessimism.
Sixty-seven percent said they do not feel confident that our children's generation will face a better life than ours; that's up from the 61 percent who felt that way in 2017.
Respondents' views of race relations were grim as well.
The poll finds that 60 percent believe race relations are bad in the nation. That view was expressed by 56 percent of whites, 81 percent of African Americans, and 61 percent of Hispanics.
Since President Donald Trump took office, 56 percent said race relations have gotten worse. While 47 percent of whites felt that way, 86 percent of African Americans and 74 percent of Hispanics said race relations worsened under Trump.
Views on the issue were markedly different under Trump's predecessor.
In November 2011, 19 percent said race relations had gotten worse under then-President Barack Obama; 13 percent expressed that view in January 2009.
Some of the new poll's other findings indicate less gloom.
It also shows that 57percent of Americans expressed satisfaction with the state of the U.S. economy. Sixty-nine percent also expressed satisfaction with their person financial situation. Despite those views, more than half--56 percent--said they felt "anxious and uncertain because the economy still feels rocky and unpredictable," causing fears about being able to pay bills.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
If you're feeling anger the political system being rigged to benefit those at the top, a new poll reveals you're far from alone.
Released Sunday, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 70 percent of Americans said they felt "angry because our political system seems to only be working for the insiders with money and power." That figure, based on polling conducted Aug. 10-14, is barely different from the 69 percent who said they felt that way in an October 2015 poll.
"Four years ago, we uncovered a deep and boiling anger across the country engulfing our political system," said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, which conducted the survey with the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies. "Four years later, with a very different political leader in place," said Horwitt, "that anger remains at the same level."
Other questions asked by the pollsters reveal more pessimism.
Sixty-seven percent said they do not feel confident that our children's generation will face a better life than ours; that's up from the 61 percent who felt that way in 2017.
Respondents' views of race relations were grim as well.
The poll finds that 60 percent believe race relations are bad in the nation. That view was expressed by 56 percent of whites, 81 percent of African Americans, and 61 percent of Hispanics.
Since President Donald Trump took office, 56 percent said race relations have gotten worse. While 47 percent of whites felt that way, 86 percent of African Americans and 74 percent of Hispanics said race relations worsened under Trump.
Views on the issue were markedly different under Trump's predecessor.
In November 2011, 19 percent said race relations had gotten worse under then-President Barack Obama; 13 percent expressed that view in January 2009.
Some of the new poll's other findings indicate less gloom.
It also shows that 57percent of Americans expressed satisfaction with the state of the U.S. economy. Sixty-nine percent also expressed satisfaction with their person financial situation. Despite those views, more than half--56 percent--said they felt "anxious and uncertain because the economy still feels rocky and unpredictable," causing fears about being able to pay bills.
If you're feeling anger the political system being rigged to benefit those at the top, a new poll reveals you're far from alone.
Released Sunday, the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll shows that 70 percent of Americans said they felt "angry because our political system seems to only be working for the insiders with money and power." That figure, based on polling conducted Aug. 10-14, is barely different from the 69 percent who said they felt that way in an October 2015 poll.
"Four years ago, we uncovered a deep and boiling anger across the country engulfing our political system," said Democratic pollster Jeff Horwitt of Hart Research Associates, which conducted the survey with the Republican firm Public Opinion Strategies. "Four years later, with a very different political leader in place," said Horwitt, "that anger remains at the same level."
Other questions asked by the pollsters reveal more pessimism.
Sixty-seven percent said they do not feel confident that our children's generation will face a better life than ours; that's up from the 61 percent who felt that way in 2017.
Respondents' views of race relations were grim as well.
The poll finds that 60 percent believe race relations are bad in the nation. That view was expressed by 56 percent of whites, 81 percent of African Americans, and 61 percent of Hispanics.
Since President Donald Trump took office, 56 percent said race relations have gotten worse. While 47 percent of whites felt that way, 86 percent of African Americans and 74 percent of Hispanics said race relations worsened under Trump.
Views on the issue were markedly different under Trump's predecessor.
In November 2011, 19 percent said race relations had gotten worse under then-President Barack Obama; 13 percent expressed that view in January 2009.
Some of the new poll's other findings indicate less gloom.
It also shows that 57percent of Americans expressed satisfaction with the state of the U.S. economy. Sixty-nine percent also expressed satisfaction with their person financial situation. Despite those views, more than half--56 percent--said they felt "anxious and uncertain because the economy still feels rocky and unpredictable," causing fears about being able to pay bills.