America’s ‘middle’ holds its ground after the Great Recession
The share of Americans who live in middle-income households has held steady since 2010 – a flat trend that might actually be good news.
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NASA popularity still sky-high
NASA continues to be very popular among the public, with four times as many Americans holding a favorable view of the space agency as unfavorable (68% vs. 17%).
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Budget deficit dropping, but public still concerned
While the $467.5 billion deficit projection for fiscal 2015 is the lowest since 2007, the nonpartisan agency predicts higher deficits in the years to come. Meanwhile, the public’s concerns about reducing the deficit have varied over the past two decades, according to the Pew Research Center’s annual policy priorities surveys.
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Public opinion on the economy and Obama’s handling of it
Strengthening the economy has been one of the public’s top priorities for the president and Congress going back even before the Great Recession. Here are key takeaways from our surveys on the state of public opinion about the economy.
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Job shifts under Obama: Fewer government workers, more caregivers, servers and temps
The healthcare industry, food and drink establishments and temp services have driven most of the jobs growth since Barack Obama took office nearly six years ago.
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America’s wealth gap between middle-income and upper-income families is widest on record
The gap between America’s upper-income and middle-income families has reached its highest level on record. In 2013, the median wealth of the nation’s upper-income families ($639,400) was nearly seven times the median wealth of middle-income families ($96,500).
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Perceptions of Job News Trend Upward
For the first time in at least five years, as many Americans say they are hearing good news as bad news about the nation’s job situation.
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Do lower gasoline prices make for confident consumers?
Lower gas prices tend to improve consumer sentiment, but the actual impact on the overall economy probably is small.
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Wealth inequality has widened along racial, ethnic lines since end of Great Recession
The median wealth of white households was 13 times the wealth of black households and 10 times that of Hispanic households in 2013, compared with eight and nine times, respectively, in 2010.
