GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- The American public now perceives the energy issue to be one of the most problems facing the nation, representing a remarkable surge in the perceived importance of energy concerns in just one month. The latest Gallup poll, conducted May 10-14, shows that 21% of Americans now mention some aspect of energy in response to Gallup's traditional "what is the most important problem facing the nation" question. Just 3% of Americans mentioned energy last month.
More specifically, 12% now spontaneously mention the lack of adequate energy sources as the country's most important problem, and another 9% mention the high cost of fuel, gas and oil. Last month, only 2% mentioned the lack of energy, and only 1% mentioned the high price of gas and other energy.
What else do Americans perceive as the country's most important problem?
- The general economy -- mentioned by 10%
- Education -- 9%
- Ethics/morals/religious/family decline; dishonesty; lack of integrity -- 8%
- Crime and violence -- 7%
- Unemployment and lack of jobs -- 6%
- Drugs -- 5%
- Dissatisfaction with government and Congress and politicians -- 5%
Here are the details:
What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today? [Open-ended]
May 10-14, |
Apr 6-8, |
Mar 5-7, |
Jan 10-14, |
Apr 3-9, |
||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (NET) |
31 |
33 |
29 |
22 |
-- |
|
1 |
Economy in general |
10 |
15 |
10 |
7 |
4 |
2 |
Fuel/Oil Prices |
9 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
Unemployment/jobs |
6 |
6 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
4 |
Taxes |
4 |
4 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
5 |
Gap between rich and poor |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
6 |
High cost of living/inflation |
1 |
7 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
Federal budget deficit/federal debt |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
8 |
Wage issues |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
9 |
Trade relations/deficit |
* |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
10 |
Recession |
* |
-- |
3 |
4 |
* |
Other specific economic |
2 |
-- |
1 |
* |
1 |
|
NON-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (NET) |
68 |
69 |
76 |
77 |
-- |
|
1 |
Lack of energy sources |
12 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
* |
2 |
Education |
9 |
10 |
16 |
12 |
11 |
3 |
Ethics/moral/religious/family decline; dishonesty; lack of integrity |
8 |
9 |
11 |
13 |
7 |
4 |
Crime/violence |
7 |
6 |
8 |
9 |
12 |
5 |
Drugs |
5 |
6 |
6 |
7 |
5 |
6 |
Dissatisfaction with government/ Congress/ politicians/ candidates; Poor leadership; corruption |
5 |
7 |
5 |
9 |
11 |
7 |
Poverty/ hunger/ homelessness |
4 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
6 |
8 |
Poor healthcare/ hospitals; high cost of healthcare |
4 |
5 |
7 |
7 |
6 |
9 |
Children's behavior/ way they are raised |
4 |
6 |
6 |
3 |
3 |
10 |
Foreign aid/focus overseas |
3 |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
11 |
Environment/ pollution |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
12 |
Medicare/Social Security issues |
3 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
13 |
Situation/Conflict with China |
2 |
7 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
14 |
Lack of Money |
2 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
15 |
Race relations/ racism |
2 |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
16 |
Guns/gun control |
1 |
1 |
4 |
1 |
5 |
17 |
Abortion |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
18 |
Judicial system/courts/laws |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
19 |
Unifying the country |
1 |
* |
1 |
1 |
-- |
20 |
Lack of respect for each other |
1 |
1 |
1 |
-- |
-- |
21 |
Lack of military defense |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
22 |
Welfare |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
23 |
Immigration/illegal aliens |
1 |
1 |
* |
2 |
1 |
24 |
International issues/ problems |
* |
3 |
4 |
4 |
2 |
25 |
Overpopulation |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
26 |
Child abuse |
* |
* |
-- |
1 |
1 |
27 |
Fear of war |
* |
1 |
2 |
* |
1 |
28 |
Care for the elderly |
* |
1 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
29 |
The media |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
-- |
30 |
School shootings/school violence |
* |
3 |
5 |
0 |
* |
31 |
Election/election reform |
* |
1 |
* |
2 |
-- |
32 |
National security |
* |
* |
1 |
-- |
-- |
Cancer/Diseases |
-- |
1 |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
Advancement of computers/technology |
-- |
-- |
* |
0 |
-- |
|
AIDS |
-- |
-- |
-- |
* |
* |
|
Other non-economic |
6 |
4 |
1 |
3 |
11 |
|
No opinion |
6 |
7 |
7 |
8 |
5 |
|
Total |
127% |
138% |
141% |
135% |
125% |
|
Total adds to more than 100% due to multiple responses |
*Less than 0.5%
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,012 adults, 18 years and older, conducted May 10-14, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.