Only 23 percent of Americans are broadly satisfied with the way things are going in the country, while the rest are dissatisfied, including nearly half "very dissatisfied," according to Gallup's annual "Mood of the Nation" poll.
The results of the annual poll were published a week ahead of President Joe Biden's second State of the Union address.
Biden is set to address a joint session of Congress next Tuesday at a time the country has a pretty gloomy outlook on many aspects.
Gallup has surveyed Americans on a number of policy issues and broad perceptions of society in its annual "Mood of the Nation" poll conducted between January 2 and 22.
The public's assessment of the state of the nation hit record lows during the Covid-19 pandemic and has changed little in this year's report.
The overall quality of life in the country (65 percent) and the opportunity for a person to get ahead by working hard (61 percent) are the only two societal dimensions of eight measured in this year's poll that a majority of Americans view positively.
Close to half of Americans today are satisfied with the influence of organized religion, while satisfaction drops to a third for the size and power of the federal government as well as the U.S. system of government and how it works.
Americans are least satisfied with the nation's moral and ethical climate (20 percent), the way income and wealth are distributed (24 percent), and the size and influence of major corporations (27 percent).
Gallup has measured Americans' satisfaction with various aspects of the country each January since 2001, except in 2009 and 2010.
The only significant change in the broad societal ratings over the past year is a six-percentage-point decline in satisfaction with the way income and wealth are distributed. This may reflect, at least in part, the prolonged period of high inflation since January 2022 that has created financial hardship for many Americans.
The public is content with just four issue areas this year. They are the nation's military strength, the position of women in the nation, the acceptance of gay and lesbian people, and the nation's security from terrorism. All others, however, fall short, including 13 that earn lower than 40% satisfaction.
Today's average issue satisfaction rating is tied with 2022's for the lowest Gallup has recorded in its measurements since 2001 but is not vastly different from the past.
On the other hand, Americans' belief in some of the nation's fundamental merits has been shaken since the emergence of the pandemic and the subsequent economic turmoil, Gallup said in its latest report.
Less than two-thirds are satisfied with the quality of life today or with the opportunity to get ahead through hard work, down from much higher levels as recently as January 2020. Satisfaction with the nation's system of government and how it works has fallen even more dramatically, from 68 percent in 2001 to 33 percent today, although much of that decline occurred over the first decade. And satisfaction ratings with government power, corporate power and income inequality are all at or near their record lows.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Political News