Poll: Government Now Biggest Concern for Americans

image
Published: 05 Jan, 2015
Updated: 21 Nov, 2022
1 min read
At first blush, an elected representative might rejoice after learning that 2014 was the first year since 2008 that the economy wasn't the American public's biggest concern, according to a Gallup Poll

released Friday. After a closer look, however, they'd be shaken to see that Government and Politicians replaced the economy at the top spot as the most important problem facing the U.S.

Results from the poll read, "Complaints about government leadership -- including President Barack Obama, the Republicans in Congress and general political conflict -- led the list, at 18 percent. This was closely followed by mentions of the economy in general (17%), unemployment or jobs (15%) and healthcare (10%)."

Over the last five years, the government category has slowly risen on Americans' list of concerns, up from fourth in 2007, then to third in 2011, second in 2013, and finally first in 2014.

The year-long survey included responses from 12,000 adults. The economy continues to rank high on the list at 17 percent and unemployment ranked third at 15 percent. Health care has remained relatively constant since 2011 as the number 4 concern Americans have, whereas immigration (8 percent) is trending back toward its 2006 high of 10 percent.

Gallup poll congress concern 2014

Since the consensus on America's most pressing issue remains relatively dispersed, there's an opportunity for one issue to claim center stage in the coming year. Whether or not government itself will hold its top spot as the most important problem facing the U.S. in 2015 is up in the air. It will fall largely on the hands of Congress to see that it doesn't.

Photo: Cool Revolution

Latest articles

Marijuana plant.
Why the War on Cannabis Refuses to Die: How Boomers and the Yippies Made Weed Political
For much of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, American physicians freely prescribed cannabis to treat a wide range of ailments. But by the mid-twentieth century, federal officials were laying the groundwork for a sweeping criminal crackdown. Cannabis would ultimately be classified as a Schedule I substance, placed alongside heroin and LSD, and transformed into a political weapon that shaped American policy for the next six decades....
30 Jun, 2025
-
2 min read
Donald Trump standing behind presidential podium and in front of two American flags.
Has Trump Made His Case for the Nobel Peace Prize?
A news item in recent days that was overshadowed in the media by SCOTUS and the One Big Beautiful Budget Bill was a US-brokered peace agreement that was signed between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – which if it holds will end a conflict between the two countries that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands of people....
30 Jun, 2025
-
7 min read
Picture of skyscraper in New York behind a bridge.
Knives Come Out Against Reform at NYC CRC Hearing as Independents Rise
Last week in Staten Island, the NYC Charter Revision Commission held its next-to-last public hearing. As Commissioner Diane Savino commented, addressing NYC's closed primary system “is the single biggest issue we’ve heard this year.”...
30 Jun, 2025
-
3 min read