5 reasons Americans have the economic blahs
Despite modestly positive macroeconomic trends, many Americans feel lukewarm or worse about the economy. Five less-common indicators may help explain why.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Drew DeSilver
Senior Writer/Editor
Drew DeSilver is a senior writer at Pew Research Center.
Publications
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Obama returns focus to America’s struggling middle class
As President Obama prepares to make a “major” speech on the economy today, our past reports describe the challenges the middle class has faced in the past decades.
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Chart of the Week: Keeping track of the world’s richest people
If you’ve ever woken up wondering “Is Bill Gates or Carlos Slim the world’s richest person today?”, Bloomberg’s new visualization of data on the 100 richest billionaires is for you.
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Just what is the median age of the Senate, anyway?
Liz Cheney’s decision to challenge Sen. Mike Enzi for re-election sets up a primary contest where the main difference appears to be generational, not ideological: Cheney, the 46-year-old daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, and Enzi, Wyoming’s 69-year-old third-term senior senator, both are conservative Republicans. “I think that part of the problem in Washington […]
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As population ages, more Americans becoming caregivers
Four in 10 U.S. adults are caring for a loved one with significant health issues.
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Partisan polarization, in Congress and among public, is greater than ever
While the Senate appears to have reached a deal on executive-branch appointments that heads off a showdown over filibuster rules, the fact that the confrontation went as far as it did points up the increasingly polarized state of Congress. From immigration reform to food stamps to student loans, it almost seems as if congressional Republicans and Democrats inhabit […]
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Near-even public split on military sexual-assault plan conceals partisan divisions
45% of Americans say Congress should change the law to address sexual-assault problems in the military.
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Filibusters: Hot topic in D.C., obscure or mysterious elsewhere
From the fervid coverage in the national press, replete with terms like “nuclear option,” “meltdown” and “showdown,” you might think the country is riveted to the clash between Senate Democrats and Republicans over filibuster rules. But with the two sides set to gather tonight in the ceremonial Old Senate Chamber in a last-ditch effort at […]
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Chart of the Week: The wide world of bribery
Every year, Transparency International asks people around the world about their experiences with public corruption — more than 114,000 in 107 countries for their latest “Global Corruption Barometer.” The map below depicts the percentage of people in each of the surveyed countries who reported paying a bribe sometime in the past 12 months to any […]
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Partner? Rival? For many in U.S., China is both
More than half of Americans say it’s very important to be “tough” with China on economic and trade issues — about as many who say “building a strong relationship” with China is very important.
