{"id":48241,"date":"2016-08-18T13:58:40","date_gmt":"2016-08-18T18:58:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2016\/08\/18\/4-how-voters-view-the-countrys-problems\/"},"modified":"2024-04-13T23:42:26","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T04:42:26","slug":"4-how-voters-view-the-countrys-problems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2016\/08\/18\/4-how-voters-view-the-countrys-problems\/","title":{"rendered":"4. How voters view the country\u2019s problems"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Voters view a number of issues as significant problems for the country. About half of registered voters (52%) say the gap between the rich and the poor is a \u201cvery big problem,\u201d while nearly as many cite relations between racial and ethnic groups (48%) as a very big problem. Terrorism (46%) and crime (45%) also are considered very big problems by voters.<\/p>\n

Roughly four-in-ten say immigration and the availability of good-paying jobs (38% each) are very big problems in the country, while somewhat fewer (30%) cite the condition of the environment.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>On the list of seven issues, immigration and terrorism stand out as especially serious problems among Trump supporters; nearly two-thirds cite each as very big problems in the country (66% immigration, 65% terrorism).<\/p>\n

Clinton supporters express far less concern about both issues. Just 17% describe immigration as a very big national problem; 40% say it is a moderately big problem, while 42% say it is either a small problem or not a problem at all. In addition, only about a third of Clinton supporters (36%) say terrorism is a very big problem in the country.<\/p>\n

Trump supporters also are more likely than Clinton backers to say that crime (52% vs. 42%) and the availability of good-paying jobs (48% vs. 33%) are very big problems.<\/p>\n

Far more Clinton supporters (70%) than Trump supporters (31%) view the gap between rich and poor as a major problem in the country. And while 43% of Clinton supporters rate the condition of the environment as a very big problem, just 16% of Trump supporters say this. While 43% of Trump backers say the condition of the environment is a moderately big problem, 38% say it is a small problem or not a problem.<\/p>\n

Where Trump and Clinton supporters agree most is on the extent to which relations between racial and ethnic groups are a problem. About half of both camps view this as a very big problem (51% of Clinton supporters and 48% of Trump supporters).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Across demographic groups there are varying perspectives on the dominant concerns facing the country.<\/p>\n

For example, black voters are more likely than whites to cite several issues as very big problems, including the rich-poor gap (by 30 percentage points), crime (26 points), the condition of the environment (18 points) and relations between racial and ethnic groups (16 points).<\/p>\n

Among supporters of Trump and supporters of Clinton, there are divisions by level of family income over the concerns facing the country.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>About four-in-ten Trump supporters (39%) from households with annual family income under $50,000 view the gap between the rich and poor as a very big problem, compared with 26% of Trump supporters with incomes of more than $50,000. Comparable shares of Clinton supporters in both income categories view the gap between rich and poor as a very big problem.<\/p>\n

On crime, Clinton supporters are divided along income lines while Trump supporters are not. A majority (59%) of Clinton supporters with household income below $50,000 view crime as a very big problem, compared with just 26% of Clinton supporters with annual family incomes of $50,000 or more.<\/p>\n

Lower income Clinton supporters also are more likely than higher income backers of Clinton to view terrorism as a very big problem (48% vs. 26%), while for Trump supporters, majorities at all income levels see this as a very big problem.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Voters view a number of issues as significant problems for the country. About half of registered voters (52%) say the gap between the rich and the poor is a \u201cvery big problem,\u201d while nearly as many cite relations between racial and ethnic groups (48%) as a very big problem. Terrorism (46%) and crime (45%) also […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":306,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"","sub_title":"","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[]},"categories":[68,42,25,39],"tags":[],"bylines":[],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[],"research-teams":[520],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-48241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-donald-trump","category-election-2016","category-politics-policy","category-us-elections-voters","formats-report","research-teams-politics"],"label":false,"post_parent":48283,"word_count":521,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2016\/08\/18\/4-how-voters-view-the-countrys-problems\/","art_direction":{"A1":{"id":63951,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png?w=564&h=317&crop=1","width":564,"height":317,"chartArt":false},"A2":{"id":63951,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"A3":{"id":63951,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png?w=194&h=110&crop=1","width":194,"height":110,"chartArt":false},"A4":{"id":63951,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png?w=268&h=151&crop=1","width":268,"height":151,"chartArt":false},"XL":{"id":63951,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png?w=640&h=320&crop=1","width":640,"height":320,"chartArt":false},"social":{"id":63951,"rawUrl":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png","url":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/20\/2016\/08\/PP_16.08.17_politicsFeatured.png?w=640&h=320&crop=1","width":640,"height":320,"chartArt":false}},"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[{"id":48283,"title":"Clinton, Trump Supporters Have Starkly Different Views of a Changing Nation","slug":"clinton-trump-supporters-have-starkly-different-views-of-a-changing-nation","link":"https:\/\/alpha.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2016\/08\/18\/clinton-trump-supporters-have-starkly-different-views-of-a-changing-nation\/","is_active":false},{"id":48271,"title":"1. 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