The nation’s debt and its yearly budget deficit have been rising in recent years.Īfter a contentious presidential election and a deadly riot inside the U.S. Among members of both parties, the shares rating the deficit as a top priority declined sharply between 2013 (at the start of Barack Obama’s second term) and 2020. Republicans also rated deficit reduction more highly than Democrats last year, at the start of Donald Trump’s final year in office. Reducing the budget deficit ranks as a middle-tier priority for Republicans and is among Democrats’ lowest priorities. More than half of Republicans (54%) say reducing the deficit should be a top policy objective, compared with 29% of Democrats. The partisan gap over addressing the coronavirus is as large – 93% of Democrats rate this as a top policy priority, compared with 60% of Republicans – though it ranks among the leading goals for members of both parties.ĭemocrats are also more likely than Republicans to say reducing health care costs (by 21 percentage points), addressing issues within the criminal justice system (also by 21 points) and improving education (by 18 points) should be top priorities this year.īy contrast, larger shares of Republicans than Democrats rate reducing the budget deficit, strengthening the military, reducing crime and defending against terrorism as top policy priorities. ![]() There also is a 33 percentage point gap between the shares of Democrats (68%) and Republicans (35%) who say addressing the problems of poor people should be a top priority. Similarly, 59% of Democrats compared with 14% of Republicans say dealing with global climate change should be a top priority. The issue is among the bottom five priorities for Republicans just 24% cite this as a top priority. Yet there are stark differences over the importance of other policy objectives – especially those relating to race and climate change.Ībout seven-in-ten Democrats (72%) say addressing issues around race in this country should be a top policy priority, placing it among the top five goals for Democrats among 19 policy areas. The economy and jobs rank among the top five policy goals for both Republicans and Democrats. Similarly, large shares in both parties rate strengthening the economy as a top goal, though more Republicans (85%) than Democrats (75%) say this. Still, while Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are more likely than Republicans and Republican leaners to rate improving the job situation as a top policy priority, majorities in both parties (71% of Democrats, 63% of Republicans) say this is a top goal. ![]() ![]() Notably, majorities rate all of these policy goals either as a “top priority” for the president and Congress or as “an important but lower priority” for each, relatively small shares say they are “not too important” or “should not be done.” Partisan differences over many policy goals, but not on ‘improving the political system’Īs in past surveys of the public’s priorities, Democrats and Republicans differ on the importance of many policy goals. Majorities also prioritize a number of other policy goals, including defending the country from future terrorist attacks (63%), improving the way the political system works (62%) and reducing health care costs (58%).Ībout half of the public says the president and Congress should make it a top priority this year to take steps to make Social Security financially sound (54%), improve education (53%), deal with the problems poor people face in their lives (53%), address issues around race in this country (49%) and reduce crime (47%).Īmong the priorities that rank lower on the 19-item priorities list are dealing with global trade (32%), improving the country’s roads, bridges and public transportation systems (32%) and dealing with drug addiction (28%). Two-thirds (67%) rate improving the job situation as a top priority. 1Ĭurrently, about eight-in-ten Americans say strengthening the nation’s economy (80%) and dealing with the coronavirus outbreak (78%) should be top priorities for the president and Congress to address this year. adults who are members of the nationally representative American Trends Panel, finds that economic concerns once again top the public’s agenda after declining in relative importance in recent years. ![]() Yet there are wide partisan gaps over most of the 19 items asked about in a new Pew Research Center survey – particularly addressing racial issues and dealing with global climate change, but also dealing with COVID-19 and reducing the budget deficit. As the United States faces twin crises of high unemployment and a global pandemic, large majorities of Americans want Joe Biden and Congress to prioritize strengthening the economy and addressing the coronavirus outbreak in the coming year.
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