This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked to give their opinions of President George W. Bush and his handling of the presidency. Opinions were also gathered on Vice President Dick Cheney, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle, Arizona Senator John McCain, and the United States Congress. Responding to questions about Bush, those polled gave their opinions on Bush's handling of foreign policy, the economy, the energy situation, and the environment. Respondents were asked if Bush could be trusted to keep his word, whether Bush had strong qualities of leadership, whether they had confidence in Bush's ability to deal wisely with an international crisis, and how much they thought Bush cared about the needs and problems of people like themselves, as well as Blacks. Opinions were gathered on whether Bush was seen as more liberal, moderate, or conservative, whether he was a different kind of Republican, whether he was working hard enough at the job of being president, and whether he had good judgment under pressure. Respondents were queried on whether Bush could negotiate effectively with world leaders and if those leaders had respect for him. The next set of questions dealt with the President and Congress. Opinions were gathered on both the Republican and Democratic parties, whether the close division between Republicans and Democrats had decreased partisanship by forcing the parties to work together, whether Bush would compromise with the Democrats to get things done and if the Democrats would do the same, if the Democrats or the president would have more influence over the direction of the country, whether respondents trusted the president or the Senate to make the right decisions about who should sit on the Supreme Court, and whether Bush's appointees would be more conservative than respondents would like. Another set of questions dealt with Social Security, including whether respondents thought individuals should be allowed to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes on their own and whether the government should be responsible to make up any losses as a result of personal investment. On the subject of Medicare, respondents were asked if reducing the cost of prescription drugs for the elderly mattered to them personally and if they would favor having Medicare pay for the costs of prescription drugs for all recipients or only for low-income recipients. Opinions were also solicited on whether respondents favored a law guaranteeing people in HMOs and other managed care plans the right to sue their plans for denying coverage. Respondents were asked if they favored raising the minimum wage and if there should be mandatory testing of students every year in public schools to determine the allocation of federal funds. With respect to the economy, respondents were asked how they rated the condition of the national economy, whether they thought it was getting better, whether the tax cuts would be good for the economy, and whether using a significant portion of the budget surplus to cut taxes would be the best thing to do or if it would be better to spend the money on programs such as Social Security and Medicare. On the subject of the environment and energy, questions were asked concerning whether continuing environmental improvements must be made regardless of cost, whether producing energy or protecting the environment was more important, whether the environment must be protected even if it meant paying higher prices for electricity and gasoline, whether respondents thought that the energy shortages were real, and whether they thought energy companies decided among themselves what prices to charge for energy. Respondents were also asked whether they approved of the building of more nuclearpower plants to generate electricity and whether they would still feel that way if one were built in their own community, whether the government should increase production of petroleum, coal, and natural gas, or instead encourage people to conserve energy, whether there should be fewer regulations placed on oil and gas companies to make it easier for them to increase energy production, whether the oil industry had too much influence, and how they felt Bush and Cheney's ties to the oil industry would affec

This statistic shows the median household income in the United States from 1990 to 2023 in 2023 U.S. dollars. The median household income was 80,610 U.S. dollars in 2023, an increase from the previous year. Household incomeThe median household income depicts the income of households, including the income of the householder and all other individuals aged 15 years or over living in the household. Income includes wages and salaries, unemployment insurance, disability payments, child support payments received, regular rental receipts, as well as any personal business, investment, or other kinds of income received routinely. The median household income in the United States varies from state to state. In 2020, the median household income was 86,725 U.S. dollars in Massachusetts, while the median household income in Mississippi was approximately 44,966 U.S. dollars at that time. Household income is also used to determine the poverty line in the United States. In 2021, about 11.6 percent of the U.S. population was living in poverty. The child poverty rate, which represents people under the age of 18 living in poverty, has been growing steadily over the first decade since the turn of the century, from 16.2 percent of the children living below the poverty line in year 2000 to 22 percent in 2010. In 2021, it had lowered to 15.3 percent. The state with the widest gap between the rich and the poor was New York, with a Gini coefficient score of 0.51 in 2019. The Gini coefficient is calculated by looking at average income rates. A score of zero would reflect perfect income equality and a score of one indicates a society where one person would have all the money and all other people have nothing.