Gallup
's Editors constantly update their analysis of the American public's priorities for their elected representatives in Washington -- the men and women sent to the nation's capital to do the people's bidding. The Top 10 Priorities list is based on an analysis of open-ended responses to questions asking Americans to name the top priorities for the government and to name the most important problem facing the nation today, plus a series of additional questions in which Americans rate the priorities of the issues and concerns facing the nation today.
Each of these Top 10 Priorities listed below is accompanied by a capsule summary of what the American public wants its representatives to do on each.
1. Iraq
Iraq is clearly the dominant policy issue on Americans' minds. It has been at the top of the list on Gallup's most important problem list since March 2004. By a wide margin over any other issue, Americans say it should be the president's and Congress' top priority. In general, Americans have been more likely over the past two years to say that U.S. involvement in the war was a mistake than to favor it. As of September 2007, 58% of Americans say the Iraq war was a mistake, four points below the highest percentage measured since the war began in March 2003 -- 62% in July of this year. A majority of Americans believe that the United States can win the war in Iraq, but only about a third think it actually will win the war in Iraq. It is clear that Americans want the process of withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq to begin now. A majority of Americans opposed the Bush administration's 2007 "surge" in troops and by September 2007, only about a third believed that the surge was making things better in Iraq. A majority of Americans favor setting a timetable for removing U.S. troops from Iraq. But there is less clarity on how soon and how fast troops should be withdrawn. In late September 2007, Gallup polling showed that Americans approved of a plan to lower the troop level to 130,000 by summer 2008 with no further commitments for withdrawal at this time, and also approved of a plan to withdraw "most" troops within nine months. At the same time, Americans do not favor Congress passing a resolution to deny funding for the war. Americans trust Gen. David Petraeus to make the appropriate recommendations about what to do next in Iraq more than other leaders in Washington -- including President Bush and the Republican and Democratic leaders in Congress. More than 7 in 10 Americans say the United States is not doing enough to hold the Iraqi government accountable for taking control of the situation in their country. Views on the war are sharply divided along party lines, with Republicans generally supportive and Democrats strongly opposed.
2. Terrorism and National Security
Terrorism is to a significant extent a latent concern for Americans. Along with the Iraq war, terrorism emerges as a top election or public policy concern when Americans are asked to rate the importance of a battery of specific issues. But the public is less likely to name terrorism in open-ended questions asking for the nation's most pressing problems or top issues for Congress to deal with -- typically less than 10%. Overall, Americans show fairly broad tolerance for strong anti-terrorism measures. Relatively few Americans think the Patriot Act "goes too far" in compromising civil liberties to fight terrorism; a majority either thinks it is about right or would like it to go further. A majority opposes the use of torture with terrorist suspects and opposes assassinating the leaders of foreign governments that sponsor terrorism. A majority favors requiring CIA agents to adhere to Geneva Convention guidelines when interrogating prisoners. A slight plurality opposes trials in which terrorist suspects are not allowed to see evidence obtained using classified or secret methods. More than half of Americans have said the Guantanamo Bay prison facility in Cuba should be kept open. Americans favor the Bush administration's efforts to wiretap telephone calls of suspected terrorists without a court order. The majority of Americans at this point do not connect the Iraq war with the war on terrorism, and are slightly more likely to say the war in Iraq has made the United States less safer -- rather than more safe -- from terrorism.
3. The Economy
American concern about the economy as a top-of-mind issue has been fairly low so far this year, but taken as a whole, Americans who are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country today are more likely to mention aspects of the economy than any other issue. Americans' ratings of current economic conditions became more positive in January 2007, but slipped again as 2007 progressed and by the summer of 2007 had become among the most negative that Gallup has measured since the early 1990s. Roughly 7 in 10 Americans said the U.S. economy is getting worse in Gallup's September 2007 survey. Americans are more positive about their personal financial situations than about the economy as a whole. The hierarchy of personal financial problems that Americans face -- and presumably therefore the problems they want government to address -- centers on simply not having enough money, having too much debt, the impact of rising costs and inflation, the price of gas, healthcare costs, college, retirement, and home ownership. It follows that when asked why they believe the U.S. economy is getting worse, Americans are most likely to say that it is because of gas prices, the poor job and employment situation, inflation, the housing market, and the growing gap between rich and poor. Asked what they would do to improve the U.S. economy, Americans, more than anything else, advocate the creation of more and better jobs. While Americans believe they pay too much in taxes, they do not appear to prioritize more tax cuts as the primary cure for economic problems. Seven in 10 Americans say they are worried that the recent problems in the home mortgage-lending industry, such as home foreclosures and subprime mortgages, will have a negative effect on the economy. Fewer are worried about how this will affect their own personal financial situation. Americans also express concern about the federal deficit and some data suggest that the public would favor reducing the deficit rather than cutting taxes. Americans are suspicious of big business, and tend to favor almost any economic proposal that puts the onus of reform on business.
4. Energy
Americans' concern about energy varies to a significant degree depending on the price of gasoline at the pump. At points in the spring and summer of 2006, Americans rated the energy situation as more serious than they have in several years, and energy and fuel prices began to show up with high frequency as the nation's most important problem and as the top priority for government to deal with. By the summer of 2007, however, this top-of-mind concern about energy had not risen dramatically, suggesting that the public is becoming accustomed to high gas prices. When asked which of two approaches to addressing the energy situation they prefer -- more production or more conservation -- Americans have consistently chosen conservation by a wide margin. The percentage favoring opening up the Alaskan Arctic National Wildlife Refuge gradually increased 2002 through 2006, with nearly half endorsing it last year, but in 2007, this percentage has dropped back down, with only about 4 in 10 supporting it. Americans' anger about the energy situation seems mostly directed at the oil and gas industry. The oil and gas industry receives the most negative ratings of 25 U.S. business and industry sectors rated in 2007. This suggests that government efforts aimed at controlling and regulating the oil industry will be met with high levels of public approval. Large majorities of Americans favor more stringent emissions standards for autos, business, and industry, as well as favor setting mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, and developing alternate sources of fuel for autos. About half favors expanded use of nuclear power as an energy source, though only about 4 in 10 support constructing nuclear power stations in their own communities.
5. Illegal Immigration
Immigration became a growing concern for Americans in 2007. By the summer of 2007, nearly 3 in 10 Americans named immigration as the top priority for Congress and government, second on the list, behind only Iraq. But after attempts to reform immigration policy were defeated in Congress this summer, Americans' view that this is the top government priority has settled down, with just 16% mentioning it in September 2007. Generally speaking, Americans view the effects of immigration positively, but less so than has been the case in the past; Americans are particularly less likely now to say that immigration helps culturally and helps the economy. While few Americans want to see immigration levels increased, slightly more want them decreased rather than kept at their present levels. The debate in Congress earlier this year focused on illegal immigration and proposed legislation has sought to deal with the need to control the flow of illegal immigrants into the country and to develop a plan to deal with illegal immigrants already in the country. Americans think both are important. The substantial majority of Americans favor most efforts to stem the flow of illegal immigrants into this country. Throughout the debate over new immigration legislation this year, a majority of Americans favored a plan that would allow illegal immigrants the opportunity to become U.S. citizens if they meet certain requirements over a period of time. But many Americans did not pay attention to the fight over the immigration bill, and among the minority that did, the bill was significantly more likely to be opposed than favored. Americans are somewhat conflicted on some aspects of immigration -- they believe illegal immigrants are a drain on public taxes and services but also acknowledge the contribution of illegal immigrants to the U.S. labor force.
6. Healthcare
Healthcare is among the top domestic concerns of Americans. Healthcare costs are among the top financial problems facing American families, and healthcare is listed as one of the top economic problems for the country as a whole. Healthcare costs and access to healthcare are volunteered as the top specific health problems facing the country, rather than diseases such as AIDS or cancer. Despite these extreme levels of concern, there is little consensus on exactly what Americans want done to curb healthcare costs. By substantial majorities, Americans favor various solutions, such as offering tax deductions to businesses that provide healthcare coverage, expanding low-income federal assistance, expanding Medicare down to age 55, offering tax deductions for the uninsured, and requiring businesses to offer health insurance. Gallup polling in September 2007 showed that a slight majority of Americans at this time go so far as to favor a national healthcare plan run by the government, similar to the systems in Canada and Great Britain. Americans agree that it is the responsibility of the federal government to make sure that all Americans have healthcare coverage. In general, Americans favor almost any proposal that would force business to take more responsibility for providing healthcare to its employees.
7. Education
Americans are more positive about the job being done by their local public schools than they are when asked to rate schools in general across the country. The public tends to believe that it is the responsibility of public schools to try to close the achievement gap between white students and black and Hispanic students. Americans believe that more than anything else, a focus on reducing the number of students per classroom while at the same time increasing the number and quality of teachers is the best way to improve public education. Americans also recognize that schools need more funding, and they advocate a return to more basics in the curriculum. Contrary to current trends in public education, with increasing federal and state mandates on local districts, Americans want control of the schools to be at the local school board level, not at the state or federal government level. Half of Americans are not familiar with the most massive attempt to improve public education in recent years, the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. Those who are familiar with NCLB are just as likely to believe that it has hurt public schools as to believe that it has helped. A majority of Americans favor the concept of charter schools. Americans strongly believe that preschool programs for low-income students would improve their school performance. The public favors extending the school day in public schools by one hour a day.
8. Morality
The acceptable patterns of behavior relating to sexual relations, marriage, reproduction, and matters of life and death are fundamental aspects of any society. As such, they are tightly intertwined with the members of that society's fundamental belief and value structures, particularly as buttressed by religious traditions. Moral issues thus have the potential to be extremely powerful in citizens' beliefs about what their elected representatives should be doing. Still, taken as a whole, it is rare that legislation relating to moral issues is at the top of the public's agenda for its elected representatives, who are more likely to be subject to intense pressure from smaller interest and value groups on both sides of the issues. Americans have long been concerned about the state of morality in the United States. More than 8 in 10 Americans rate the state of moral values in the United States as only fair or poor (44% on the latter) and more than 8 in 10 say that moral values are getting worse rather than better. Moral issues consistently appear in Gallup's monthly measurement of the most important problem facing the country. Morality is a vast domain covering many different aspects of Americans' personal and social lives. It is thus impossible to pass simple legislation that will broadly increase the level of morality in this country. Lawmakers attempting to address the public's concern about moral issues are faced with handling morality on an issue-by-issue basis.
9. Fixing Government Itself
Concerns about the way government is working now rank in the top five issues when Americans are asked to name the most important problem facing the country. Americans are, at this juncture in history, very negative in their views of elected representatives in Congress. Job approval ratings of Congress are only in the mid-20% range, among the lowest that Gallup has ever observed going back to the 1970s. Americans continue to believe that political officeholders at the federal level are not highly honest and ethical. The public now has the lowest level of confidence in Congress in Gallup's history, and Americans rank the federal government near the bottom of the list of industry or business sectors. As many Americans say most members of Congress are corrupt as say they are not. Half of Americans said corruption in government was an extremely important issue to their vote for Congress in 2006, ranking second only to the war in Iraq in a list of issues facing the nation. Americans say the Democrats are better able to handle corruption than the Republicans, but still, only about a third give either party high marks on this issue. It appears that Americans in general favor almost any effort to remedy this situation. Most support campaign finance laws proposed to help fix the election process. The majority of Americans believe Congress would do a better job if it paid more attention to public opinion and less attention to Congress members' own personal views.
10. The Environment
The environment is not highly likely to be mentioned spontaneously by Americans as a top problem facing the United States at this time, and has a low top-of-mind presence when the public is asked about priorities for government. The environment is seen as more important when Americans respond to a prompted list of issues. Americans willingly say the government is doing too little to protect the environment. Many worry about environmental conditions. A significant majority believes that the quality of the environment is getting worse, not better. There has been an increase in Americans' general concern about the environment and awareness of global warming. At this point, 55% of Americans say protection of the environment should be given priority over economic growth, and a majority of Americans believe that protection of the environment should be favored over energy source development. Americans are not opposed to policy initiatives aimed at improving the environment, but they are not pressing for them at this time. On the prominent global warming issue, most Americans take it seriously as a problem. At the same time, only about 4 in 10 Americans believe that immediate, drastic action is needed to deal with global warming, and just 28% say there will be "extreme" impact of global warming in 50 years if efforts to address the problem are not increased. The environmental policy initiatives Americans would most welcome would appear to be those with the most direct impact: maintaining the safety of drinking water, curbing toxic waste, and improving water and air quality.
