Public Agrees on Obesity’s Impact, Not Government’s Role

Yes to Calories on Menus, No to Soda Limits

Most Americans (69%) see obesity as a very serious public health problem, substantially more than the percentages viewing alcohol abuse, cigarette smoking and AIDS in the same terms. In addition, a broad majority believes that obesity is not just a problem that affects individuals: 63% say obesity has consequences for society beyond the personal impact on individuals. Just 31% say it impacts the individuals who are obese but not society more broadly.

Yet, the public has mixed opinions about what, if anything, the government should do about the issue. A 54% majority does not want the government to play a significant role in reducing obesity, while 42% say the government should play a significant role. And while some proposals for reducing obesity draw broad support, others are decidedly unpopular.

The new national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Oct. 30-Nov. 6 among 2,003 adults, finds that two-thirds (67%) favor requiring chain restaurants to list calorie counts on menus. But just 31% support limits on the size of sugary soft drinks in restaurants and convenience stores – 67% oppose this idea. More than half (55%) favor banning TV ads of unhealthy foods during children’s programming, but barely a third (35%) supports raising taxes on sugary soft drinks and unhealthy foods. On each of these policies, Democrats and women are more supportive than Republicans, independents and men.

Via: Pew Research

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PUBLIC REVOLTS AGAINST OBAMA, POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT'S AMNESTY EFFORTS

According to new national polling data from Pew Research, the American people have revolted against President Barack Obama’s and the GOP establishment’s efforts to grant amnesty to America’s at least 11 million illegal immigrants through comprehensive immigration reform.

“Only about a third of the public (32%) approves of the job Obama is doing on immigration policy; 60% disapprove,” Pew wrote. “Obama’s ratings for this issue among Democrats are mixed: About half (53%) approve of his handling of the issue while 42% disapprove.”

Obama’s 60 percent disapproval rating on immigration from the American people is an all-time high for him on the issue and puts him on par with former President George W. Bush’s immigration polling numbers. Obama’s immigration disapproval rating has skyrocketed as he has ramped up his efforts to lobby Congress for the passage of an amnesty—particularly the Senate’s “Gang of Eight” immigration bill.

As the American people have learned more and more about the Gang of Eight bill and the effects which amnesty and a drastic influx of millions of new workers would have on the hurting economy, they have grown more and more outraged with what Washington, D.C., is doing regarding immigration reform. In February—before Obama and lawmakers like Sens. John McCain (R-AZ), Marco Rubio (R-FL), Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and DIck Durbin (D-IL) began their push for immigration reform—the President's immigration policy approval rating among the American people, according to Pew, was higher than his disapproval rating. His approval rating on immigration then was 44 percent, whereas his disapproval rating was 43 percent.

Via: Breitbart

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Poll: Plurality of Democrats Believe Exchanges Are Working Well

Quick thoughts on Pew’s latest survey, asking Americans what they know and what they think about the Obamacare exchanges:

The survey found 29 percent say the online health insurance exchanges are working “well” or “fairly well.” This means at least 29 percent of Americans have absolutely no idea what’s going on. Separately, 25 percent of Americans say they “don’t know” if the exchanges are working well. This amounts to 54 percent of Americans.

The survey found 44 percent of Democrats, 25 percent of independents, and 14 percent of Republicans believe the exchanges are working well. Also 51 percent of African-Americans said the online insurance exchanges were working well. Only 32 percent of Democrats think the exchanges aren’t working well. In short, partisanship can easily override reality in the minds of these respondents.

Only 14 percent of Americans say they visited the site so far. Only 29 percent of those who said they have visited the site say they’re uninsured. 

They survey found that 31 percent of those who are uninsured say they don’t plan to visit the site. A segment of that crowd might be thinking about other options like phoning it in, but not a big chunk: of those without insurance, 24 percent said they do not plan to get insurance. Another 11 percent said they didn’t know.

Via: NRO

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Trust in Government Nears Record Low, But Most Federal Agencies Are Viewed Favorably

Public trust in the government, already quite low, has edged even lower in a survey conducted just before the Oct. 16 agreement to end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling.

Just 19% say that they trust the government in Washington to do what is right just about always or most of the time, down seven points since January. The current measure matches the level reached in August 2011, following the last battle over the debt ceiling. Explore a Pew Research interactive on Public Trust in Government: 1958-2013.

The share of the public saying they are angry at the federal government, which equaled an all-time high in late September (26%), has ticked up to 30%. Another 55% say they are frustrated with the government. Just 12% say they are basically content with the federal government.

Despite highly negative views of the federal government overall, the public has favorable views of many of its agencies and departments, which were closed by the shutdown. Majorities have favorable opinions of 12 of 13 agencies tested – with the IRS the lone exception (44% favorable).

Federal workers, hundreds of thousands of whom were furloughed during the shutdown, also are viewed positively: By about two-to-one (62% to 29%), more have a favorable than unfavorable opinion of federal government workers.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center, conducted Oct. 9-13 among 1, 504 adults, finds that just 23% have a favorable opinion of Congress, while 73% have an unfavorable view. Dissatisfaction with Congress also is seen in record anti-incumbent 

Via: Pew Research

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Media Shapes Views of Low-Information Voters

A funny television feature by Dan Joseph on MRCTV prompted me to question how public opinion could possibly be so distorted these days. In man-on-the-street interviews, the reporter asked numerous people whether President Obama or President Bush was responsible for the government shutdown. A hilarious succession of people solemnly declared that President Bush is the one responsible. While the interviews are laughable, the problem of "low-information voters" is not funny at all. A republic whose educational and cultural institutions produce voters that are ill informed cannot hope to arrive at good civic decisions.

Evidence that the public is not well-informed abounds. According to the Pew Research Center's biennial survey, television is still the public's top news source (69 percent) and the public still believes that journalists are the ones who make sense of issues and conflicts (54 percent) and that the press is a "watchdog" preventing political leaders from misleading the public (43 percent).

Yet, a fawning New York City reporter, WABC's Diana Williams, interviewed President Obama, asking him if he felt any responsibility for the government shutdown. Astoundingly, the president accepted absolutely no responsibility whatsoever, calling the standoff purely a result of the "bad strategy" of the GOP, aimed at "blindsiding" the Democrats and "extracting ransom." The obsequious reporter left unchallenged Obama's self-serving statements that painted him as "above the fray" and totally innocent of any involvement in the political crisis. Despite a mountain of evidence to the contrary, the president claimed that he had a "track record of consistently seeking compromise," to the point that members of his party "were critical of him," but that he "always does what is best for the country." The reporter summed up the interview by calling him "calm, thoughtful and kind." Calm, perhaps. Kind? What planet has this reporter been living on for the last five years?

Via: American Thinker

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