Looking Back on the Past Year►
Reflecting on the Last Decade ►
Outlook on the Next Year►
Expectations for the Coming Decade►
This month’s Public Opinion Monthly examines people’s feelings on the past and the future as we enter not only a new year, but a new decade. The last ten years have been full of change, uncertainty and often struggle, yet people hold on to hope and show great resilience in their optimism as they look ahead to what the next ten years may hold.
LOOKING BACK
The Past Year
Mixed emotions on 2009: According to a new AP GfK Roper survey, nearly three in four (73%) believe that 2009 was a bad year for the country. A plurality (42%) expressed that 2009 was a very bad year, and 31% assert that 2009 was a somewhat bad year for the country overall. For individuals and their families, a majority (61%) expressed that 2009 was actually a good year and 38% reported that it was a bad year. Only a small minority (15%) felt that 2009 was a very bad year for them individually.
The Past Decade
Increased racial and ethnic diversity a postive change: Pew Research Center for the People and the Press released data from a new survey showing that though people hold deeply negative feelings about the decade from 2000 to 2009, there have been some positive changes as well. Some of these changes over the past decade include technological advances such as the internet, e-mail, cellphones and mobile handheld devices, as well as social issues such as increased racial and ethnic diversity. A majority (61%) express that increasing racial and ethnic diversity has been a change for the better, only 9% believe this has been a change for the worse. Fewer respondents, though still a plurality (38%), believe that increased acceptance of gays and lesbians has been a change for the better, with 29% asserting that it has been a change for the worse.
For the associated graph, please visit the original version of this posting at The Opportunity Agenda website.
On the negative side, however, the word "downhill" was offered by the largest number of respondents when asked of their impression of the 2000s. Half of respondents have a negative impression of the previous decade, far more than any other decade with 15% feeling negatively about the 1960’s, 16% about the 1970’s, 12% regarding the 1980’s, and 19% regarding the 1990’s. For a majority of respondents (53%), the September 11th terrorist attacks stand out as the most important event of the last decade.
The election of George W. Bush had the biggest impact on the decade? A slightly different question was asked by a BBC World News America/Harris Interactive poll of 2,116 American adults. When given a choice of six factors that had an impact on the last decade – the election of George W. Bush, the rise of terrorism, the economic ups and downs, the election of Barack Obama, the war in Iraq, and the war in Afghanistan – the most popular category chosen as having the greatest impact, garnering agreement from a full quarter of respondents, was the election of George W. Bush.
For the associated graph, please visit the original version of this posting at The Opportunity Agenda website.
The US and Europe, improved standard of living in the last ten years: A recent Financial Times/Harris poll shows how people in the United States, Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Germany feel about the past as well as the coming decade. A plurality (43%) in the United States express that their standard of living has improved in the past ten years, with one in three saying it has gotten worse. Though 49% of Americans are spending more money than they did ten years ago, they are the most likely of the six countries to report spending less. Twenty-nine percent of Americans say they spend less money now than they did ten years ago, compared to 21% of respondents in Great Britain, 23% in France, 19% in both Italy and Spain, and 24% in Germany. Few Americans (15%) feel safer than they did ten years ago, with 36% expressing that they feel less safe and 49% saying they feel the same compared to ten years ago.
LOOKING AHEAD
This Year
Optimism for 2010:The AP poll shows a great deal of optimism looking forward in to 2010 for both the country and the individual and their family. Almost three quarters of respondents (72%) are optimistic about what 2010 will bring for the country, with 31% being very optimistic. The same level of optimism doesn’t hold when discussing specific issues, such as the situations in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the economy. A majority (53%) believe the situation in Iraq will stay the same, with three in ten expressing the belief that it will improve and a small minority (16%) expressing that it will get worse. Regarding Afghanistan, a plurality (44%) believe the situation will stay the same, while three in ten express the belief that it will get better and nearly a quarter (23%) believe it will get worse. When asked about the economy, people are slightly more optimistic with a plurality of 46% believing it will get better. Slightly more than three in ten respondents assert the belief that nothing will change with the economy, and a fifth believe it will get worse.
Individually, a large majority of respondents (82%) are optimistic about what 2010 holds for them and their family. People are exactly split on level of optimism, with 41% being very optimistic, and 41% being somewhat optimistic about their own situation in 2010. Regarding personal finances, however, exactly half of the people surveyed believe their financial situation will stay the same, with 37% believing their financial situations will improve in 2010. Only 13% believe their on family’s finances will get worse in the next year.
For the associated graph, please visit the original version of this posting at The Opportunity Agenda website.
The Next Decade
The next decade will be better: According to the Pew survey, nearly everyone holds a belief that the decade from 2010 to 2019 will be different from the 2000s, with a majority (59%) believing the next decade will be better, and nearly a third (32%) believing it will be worse.
The US and Europe:The Financial Times/Harris poll shows American expectations of the coming decade, as well as the expectations of people in Great Britain, France, Italy, Spain and Germany. People in the United States and Spain are the most optimistic about their standard of living in the next ten years. Forty-three percent of respondents in the US and 41% in Spain are optimistic about the standard of living in their countries over the next ten years. Regarding their individual standard of living, 39% of Americans and 35% of respondents in Spain believe it will improve in the coming decade. Majorities in all countries, the largest being in France (75%), believe that the government will do less for them and their families in the coming decade than it did in the past ten years. Italians and Americans are the most likely to believe the US and its allies will win the war on terror, with 45% of respondents from Italy and 29% of respondents from the US believing this will happen. Only 8% of Germans and 10% of the French share the same optimism regarding the war on terror.
Read more at The Opportunity Agenda website.
