Deeper Currents
Scott Rasmussen offers his personal insight, analysis, and opinion on current political races, issues, and controversy.Latest Posts
On average, American voters currently believe that 44 cents out of every dollar spent by the federal government is wasted. That result comes from a Scott Rasmussen national survey of 1,200 Registered Voters conducted October 6-9, 2021. This result is consistent with a long history of survey data compiled by Gallup. Since 1979, voters have estimated that anywhere from 38 to 51 cents out of every federal dollar is wasted. The lowest levels of estimated waste were found during Ronald Reagan's Administration in the 1980s.
Among those who Strongly Disapprove of President Trump, 57% also disapprove of removing statues that honor George Washington. Those findings come from an analysis of a JustTheNews.com national opinion survey conducted by Scott Rasmussen. These results help explain why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden publicly opposed efforts to remove statues honoring early presidents who were also slave-owners. Both had earlier expressed support for taking down statues honoring honoring Confederate soldiers. Pelosi said the issue was not about slaveholding, but loyalty to the United States: "I do believe that if people have committed treason
Contrary to popular myths, the national political polls in 2016 were very accurate. According to the Real Clear Politics average, Hillary Clinton was projected to win the popular vote by 3.3 percentage points and she actually won it by 2.1 percentage points. Ten of the last twelve national polls released were within two percentage points of the actual margin. One of the others overestimated Clinton’s margin by four points and one underestimated it by four points. That’s about as accurate a projection as you could hope for! However, while the polling was good, the analysis of the polling was not. Many in
Full Archive
| ID | Date | Title | Excerpt |
|---|---|---|---|
| ID | Date | Title | Excerpt |
| 14485 | 10-14-2021 | Voters Say 44 cents of Every Dollar Spent By Federal Government is Wasted | On average, American voters currently believe that 44 cents out of every dollar spent by the federal government is wasted. That result comes from a Scott Rasmussen national survey of 1,200 Registered Voters conducted October 6-9, 2021.
This result is consistent with a long history of survey data compiled by Gallup. Since 1979, voters have estimated that anywhere from 38 to 51 cents out of every federal dollar is wasted.
The lowest levels of estimated waste were found during Ronald Reagan's Administration in the 1980s. read more |
| 13230 | 07-06-2020 | Most Who Strongly Disapprove of Trump Also Oppose Removing Statues Honoring Washington | Among those who Strongly Disapprove of President Trump, 57% also disapprove of removing statues that honor George Washington. Those findings come from an analysis of a JustTheNews.com national opinion survey conducted by Scott Rasmussen.
These results help explain why House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and presumptive Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden publicly opposed efforts to remove statues honoring early presidents who were also slave-owners. Both had earlier expressed support for taking down statues honoring honoring Confederate soldiers. Pelosi said the issue was not about slaveholding, but loyalty to the United States: "I do believe that if people have committed treason read more |
| 13114 | 04-20-2020 | The Polls Weren't Wrong in 2016--But The Analysis of the Polls Was Horrible | Contrary to popular myths, the national political polls in 2016 were very accurate. According to the Real Clear Politics average, Hillary Clinton was projected to win the popular vote by 3.3 percentage points and she actually won it by 2.1 percentage points. Ten of the last twelve national polls released were within two percentage points of the actual margin. One of the others overestimated Clinton’s margin by four points and one underestimated it by four points.
That’s about as accurate a projection as you could hope for!
However, while the polling was good, the analysis of the polling was not.
Many in read more |
| 13073 | 04-01-2020 | Coronavirus Polling in Utah | A Deseret News/Hinckley Institute of Politics poll found that Utah voters think the federal government was slow to react to coronavirus, but give high marks to President Trump.
The survey also showed how the virus has impacted the life of just about every Utah voter in some way.
The survey of 979 Registered Voters was conducted by me from March 23-28. It's part of a monthly polling series. read more |
| 12189 | 07-11-2019 | ScottRasmussen.com Data in WSJ Best of the Web Column | ScottRasmussen.com polling data was featured in the Wall Street Journal's Best of the Web column today.
The column explores whether or not the Democratic presidential candidates are moving too far to the left.
"Today pollster Scott Rasmussen shares results suggesting Democrats may not want to fall so hard for illegal immigration:"
Twenty-one percent (21%) of voters nationwide believe the United States has no right to decide who is eligible to enter the country. They believe anyone who wants to live in the United States should be allowed entry. However, 79% disagree and take the opposite view.
This is consistent read more |
| 10679 | 02-17-2019 | A Farewell to Pat Caddell | Legendary pollster Pat Caddell passed away on Saturday at the far too young age of 68. Many pollsters of my generation looked up to Pat when they were getting started. We all followed trails that he blazed.
I had the honor of knowing Pat, working with him, and trying to hold my own in countless spirited conversations with him. He was brilliant, blunt, insightful, and passionate. Intense is another word that comes to mind.
We once did a press conference together where a reporter asked about taxes. The premise of the question was flawed and Pat lit into him with a tour de read more |
| 8665 | 08-29-2018 | Is Phone Polling Dead? | There is a vigorous debate as to whether phone polling is dead or just dying. Some of it is fueled by the erroneous notion that the pollsters total missed the mark in the 2016 election. Actually, the national poll results were generally accurate in forecasting a modest popular vote victory for Hillary Clinton. While the polling was decent, the analysis wasn't.
Still, there are legitimate questions about the viability of phone polling in a time when fewer than half the nation's households have a landline telephone. And, calling cell phones isn't necessarily the answer. Hardly anybody answers their cell phones unless read more |