GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ -- Terrorism, war and the economy continue to predominate when Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the country today. These issues are not dominating the consciousness of Americans to the degree that they did at times last year, however, nor are they dominating to the degree that other problems have in past years.
Four out of 10 Americans now mention terrorism, fear of war, or national security as the country's most pressing issue. That's followed by about three out of 10 Americans who mention some aspect of the economy in response to this question.
At some points in America's recent history, concern about war or international affairs has been so prevalent that up to 70% of those answering the "most important problem" question have mentioned these issues. This was the case, for example, in August 1966, when 69% mentioned the Vietnam War or related topics as the nation's most important problem.
Similarly, much higher numbers of Americans in past years have mentioned the economy when asked about the most important problem facing the country. This was the case in polling conducted in the early 1990s, and in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
There was a brief period last fall when concern about terrorism and the war neared the two-thirds level. In October, 64% of Americans mentioned terrorism, the war or national security. But the top-of-mind mentions of these issues in response to the "most important problem" question began to fall soon thereafter, and have stayed at about the current levels for the past several months.
The pattern we see now in response to this Gallup Poll question is similar to that observed in the mid- to late 1990s and in 2000 and 2001. No single problem is so salient that a majority of respondents mention it or that it crowds out all others when respondents are asked to name their perception of the most important problem facing the country.
Beyond the economy and the war, respondents do not mention any single domestic concern with any great frequency. Education and morality/ethics are mentioned by 7% of respondents, while 6% mention healthcare.
Additional Key Points
1. There is little difference by political party affiliation in perception of the economy as the No. 1 problem facing the country. Twenty-eight percent of Republicans, 31% of independents and 31% of Democrats mention economic concerns. Similarly, there is little difference by party affiliation in mention of terrorism/national security/war in response to this "most important problem" question.
2. There is also very little difference by gender or age in perception of the most important problem.
Discussion
The responses to this question ("What do you think is the most
important problem facing this country today?") represent
top-of-mind concerns, and are often different from the ratings
obtained when we read off a list of problems and ask each
respondent to evaluate their importance.
Two categories of responses have typically been most prevalent over the years: economic concerns and concerns relating to the war.
In the spring of both 1989 and 1990, however, drugs became the most important problem -- reflecting the particular focus on drugs and the drug problem at that point in time. Similarly, crime/violence was the most important problem for two years in the late 1990s.
Despite the near general recognition that the United States was in a recession last year, top-of-mind mentions of economic concerns have not risen above 40% since the early 1990s. Ten years ago, in the midst of the last recession, up to 70% of Americans named the economy as the nation's top problem. The economy also dominated top-of-mind thoughts about the most important problem facing the country in the inflationary times of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
The Data
What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today? [Open-ended]
|
Mar |
Feb |
Jan |
Dec |
Nov |
Oct |
Sep |
||
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
|
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (NET) |
29 |
40 |
33 |
30 |
24 |
20 |
39 |
|
|
1 |
Economy in general |
18 |
24 |
21 |
19 |
16 |
13 |
22 |
|
2 |
Unemployment/jobs |
8 |
11 |
8 |
9 |
6 |
4 |
10 |
|
3 |
Taxes |
1 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
4 |
Recession |
1 |
3 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
-- |
2 |
|
5 |
High cost of living/ inflation |
1 |
* |
* |
1 |
1 |
3 |
1 |
|
6 |
Federal budget deficit/ federal debt |
1 |
1 |
* |
-- |
-- |
* |
2 |
|
7 |
Wage issues |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
8 |
Gap between rich and poor |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
|
9 |
Fuel/ Oil prices |
* |
-- |
* |
* |
-- |
* |
1 |
|
Other specific economic |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
|
|
NON-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS (NET) |
75 |
69 |
68 |
75 |
79 |
85 |
65 |
|
|
1 |
Terrorism |
22 |
24 |
23 |
24 |
37 |
46 |
-- |
|
2 |
Fear of war/ feelings of fear in this country |
12 |
9 |
8 |
17 |
13 |
10 |
1 |
|
3 |
Education/ poor education/ access to education |
7 |
5 |
6 |
5 |
3 |
3 |
11 |
|
4 |
Ethics/ moral/ religious/ family decline/ dishonesty/ lack of integrity |
7 |
6 |
6 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
9 |
|
5 |
National security |
6 |
8 |
4 |
6 |
9 |
8 |
* |
|
6 |
Poor healthcare/ hospitals/ high cost of healthcare |
6 |
3 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
5 |
|
7 |
Poverty/ hunger/ homelessness |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
2 |
2 |
5 |
|
8 |
Dissatisfaction with government/ Congress/ politician/ candidates/ poor leadership/ corruption |
4 |
3 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
1 |
6 |
|
9 |
Drugs |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
* |
4 |
|
10 |
International issues/ problems |
2 |
2 |
* |
2 |
2 |
3 |
3 |
|
11 |
Environment/ pollution |
2 |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
|
12 |
Immigration/ illegal aliens |
2 |
2 |
2 |
2 |
3 |
2 |
5 |
|
13 |
Children's behavior/ way they are raised |
2 |
1 |
1 |
2 |
* |
* |
2 |
|
14 |
Crime/ violence |
1 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
7 |
|
15 |
Care for the elderly |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
|
16 |
Judicial system/ courts/ laws |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
* |
2 |
|
17 |
Race relations/ racism |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
2 |
2 |
|
18 |
Welfare |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
-- |
1 |
1 |
|
19 |
Lack of respect for each other |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
1 |
1 |
|
20 |
Medicare/ Social Security issues |
1 |
2 |
* |
1 |
* |
1 |
5 |
|
21 |
Lack of energy sources; the energy crisis |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
|
22 |
Lack of money |
* |
-- |
2 |
1 |
1 |
-- |
* |
|
23 |
Abortion |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
-- |
* |
|
24 |
The media |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
|
25 |
Foreign aid/ focus overseas |
* |
1 |
1 |
1 |
1 |
* |
* |
|
26 |
Child abuse |
* |
* |
* |
* |
-- |
-- |
* |
|
27 |
Unifying the country |
* |
* |
3 |
1 |
2 |
1 |
* |
|
28 |
School shootings/ school violence |
* |
-- |
-- |
* |
-- |
* |
* |
|
29 |
Overpopulation |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
|
Lack of military defense |
-- |
1 |
* |
1 |
* |
* |
1 |
|
|
AIDS |
-- |
* |
-- |
* |
-- |
-- |
* |
|
|
Guns/ gun control |
-- |
* |
* |
* |
* |
* |
1 |
|
|
Losing personal freedoms because of war |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
-- |
6 |
-- |
|
|
Other non-economic |
2 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
3 |
6 |
3 |
|
|
No opinion |
4 |
4 |
3 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
|
|
Total |
122% |
130% |
109% |
128% |
116% |
108% |
125% |
|
|
Total adds to more than 100% due to multiple responses |
||||||||
|
*Less than 0.5% |
||||||||
|
Most Important Problem: 1939-2002 (Based on responses in the spring of each year) |
||
|
Date |
Problem |
Mentioning % |
|
2002 Mar |
Economy |
28 |
|
2001 Mar |
Economy |
20 |
|
2000 Mar |
Education |
16 |
|
1999 May |
Crime/Violence |
24 |
|
1998 Apr |
Crime/Violence |
20 |
|
1997 Jan |
Economy |
24 |
|
1996 May |
Economy |
31 |
|
1995 Jan |
Economy and Crime/Violence (tie) |
27 |
|
1994 Jan |
Crime/Violence |
49 |
|
1993 Jan |
Economy |
59 |
|
1992 May |
Economy |
66 |
|
1991 Mar |
Economy |
70 |
|
1990 Apr |
Drugs |
30 |
|
1989 May |
Drugs |
27 |
|
1987 Apr |
Economy |
29 |
|
1986 Jan |
International Issues/Foreign Aid and Economy (tie) |
30 |
|
1985 May |
Economy |
50 |
|
1984 Feb |
Economy |
64 |
|
1983 Apr |
Economy (unemployment 53) |
93 |
|
1982 Jan |
Economy (inflation 49) |
84 |
|
1981 May |
Economy |
24 |
|
1980 Mar |
Economy (inflation 75) |
81 |
|
1979 Feb |
Economy (inflation 62) |
69 |
|
1978 Apr |
Economy (inflation 55) |
74 |
|
1977 Mar |
Economy (inflation 54) |
95 |
|
1976 Apr |
Economy (unemployment 24, inflation 38) |
62 |
|
1975 Mar |
Economy (inflation 60) |
81 |
|
1974 Jan |
Environment |
46 |
|
1973 Feb |
Economy (unemployment 10, inflation 23) |
33 |
|
1972 Apr |
Vietnam/War/Peace/Terrorism |
35 |
|
1971 Feb |
Vietnam/War/Peace/Terrorism |
22 |
|
1970 Jan |
Vietnam/War/Peace/Terrorism |
32 |
|
1969 Jan |
Vietnam/War/Peace/Terrorism |
47 |
|
1968 Feb |
Ethics/Moral Decline and Crime/Violence (tie) |
13 |
|
1967 Jan |
Vietnam/War/Peace/Terrorism |
62 |
|
1966 Aug |
Vietnam/War/Peace/Terrorism |
69 |
|
1965 Feb |
Vietnam/War/Peace/Terrorism |
42 |
|
1964 Mar |
Racism |
34 |
|
1963 Sep |
Racism |
52 |
|
1962 Apr |
International Issues/Foreign Aid |
32 |
|
1961 Feb |
International Issues/Foreign Aid |
36 |
|
1960 Feb |
War/Peace/Terrorism |
23 |
|
1958 Jul |
International Issues/Foreign Aid |
46 |
|
1957 Aug |
International Issues/Foreign Aid and Economy (tie) |
22 |
|
1956 Sep |
War/Peace/Terrorism and Racism (tie) |
21 |
|
1954 Mar |
Economy |
37 |
|
1952 Jun |
War/Peace/Terrorism |
55 |
|
1951 Sep |
War/Peace/Terrorism |
56 |
|
1950 Mar |
International Issues/Foreign Aid |
39 |
|
1949 Jun |
Economy |
40 |
|
1948 Mar |
War/Peace/Terrorism |
39 |
|
1947 Jan |
Economy |
55 |
|
1946 Feb-Mar |
Economy (unemployment 58) |
73 |
|
1945 Mar |
Economy (unemployment 30) |
30 |
|
1939 Apr |
Economy (unemployment 46) |
48 |
Note: These percentages to some degree reflect differences in coding procedures used over the years (i.e., which specific mentions by respondents should be considered "economic") and therefore should be used as general estimates only.
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,006 adults, 18 years and older, conducted March 4-7, 2002. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is ±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.
