In this 2018 survey, eight percent of respondents stated they think the biggest problem for the United States today is Donald Trump. In fact, most of the important problems mentioned are somehow related to the current POTUS – the most mentioned one being immigration and racism.

A country divided

Since Trump’s inauguration in January 2017, political camps in the United States are deeply divided and global politics is in turmoil; Trump’s job approval ratings are notoriously low, and in fact, they are lower than Reagan’s or Nixon’s averages ever were. Trump’s leadership is controversial at best and his executive orders often cause protests, especially among Democrats and liberals – like the travel ban for Muslims.

On the other side

One of Trump’s main campaign promises was a wall on the border with Mexico in order to keep potential illegal immigrants out and enhance security for American citizens. When he did not get the majority for this plan, he declared a national emergency to force the budget to be allocated, even though the majority of Americans did not support this idea, and it is unclear if the situation at the Mexican border actually warrants it. In fact, the total number of unauthorized immigrants has decreased over the last few years and today, many Americans believe that their country benefits from immigrants and their work .

In December 2024, 11 percent of survey respondents said that the most important problem facing the United States was the high cost of living and inflation. Another 20percent said that the government and poor leadership was the most serious concern for the nation.

In a survey conducted in 2022, 64 percent of the opinion leaders and prominent journalists surveyed in Latin America said that job creation and economic growth was the most important problem Latin America would face in the incoming 18 months. The second main issue according to these experts was inflation and economic instability.

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. In this poll, respondents were asked about President Ronald Reagan's performance in office and the government's handling of the economy, with a special focus on United States involvement in Latin America. Demographic information on respondents includes age, sex, race, educational level, employment status, political party affiliation, voting history, and marital status.

According to a recent survey conducted in 17 Latin American countries, the main problem was the economy, including economic and financial problems. Unemployment ranked second, with 13.4 percent of the respondents, and crime and public security issues came close in third, with 13.2 percent.

According to the data from 2025, some 16 percent of respondents said that rising health care costs were the most important health issue facing the United States. Cancer ranked second on the list with 15 percent. Issues with healthcare costsCurrently, the most urgent problem facing American healthcare is the high costs of care. The high expense of healthcare may deter people from getting the appropriate treatment when they need medical care or cause them to completely forego preventative care visits. Many Americans reported that they may skip prescription doses or refrain from taking medication as prescribed due to financial concerns. Such health-related behavior can result in major health problems, which may raise the long-term cost of care. Inflation, medical debt, and unforeseen medical expenses have all added to the burden that health costs are placing on household income. Gun violence issueThe gun violence epidemic has plagued the United States over the past few years, yet very little has been done to address the issue. In recent years, gun violence has become the leading cause of death among American children and teens. Even though more than half of Americans are in favor of tougher gun control regulations, there is little political will to strongly reform the current gun law. Gun violence has a deep traumatic impact on survivors and society, it is developing into a major public health crisis in the United States.

According to the data from January 2024, 22 percent of respondents said that rising health care costs were the most important health issue facing the United States. Mental health ranked second on the list with 15 percent. Issues with healthcare costsCurrently, the most urgent problem facing American healthcare is the high costs of care. The high expense of healthcare may deter people from getting the appropriate treatment when they need medical care or cause them to completely forego preventative care visits. Many Americans reported that they may skip prescription doses or refrain from taking medication as prescribed due to financial concerns. Such health-related behavior can result in major health problems, which may raise the long-term cost of care. Inflation, medical debt, and unforeseen medical expenses have all added to the burden that health costs are placing on household income. Gun violence issueThe gun violence epidemic has plagued the United States over the past few years, yet very little has been done to address the issue. In recent years, gun violence has become the leading cause of death among American children and teens. Even though more than half of Americans are in favor of tougher gun control regulations, there is little political will to strongly reform the current gun law. Gun violence has a deep traumatic impact on survivors and society, it is developing into a major public health crisis in the United States.

A survey conducted in February 2025 found that the most important issue for ** percent of Americans was inflation and prices. A further ** percent of respondents were most concerned about jobs and the economy.

United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: Survey High: Competit'n frm Big Bus data was reported at 14.000 % in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 14.000 % for Feb 2025. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: Survey High: Competit'n frm Big Bus data is updated monthly, averaging 14.000 % from Jan 2014 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 131 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 14.000 % in Mar 2025 and a record low of 14.000 % in Mar 2025. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: Survey High: Competit'n frm Big Bus data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Federation of Independent Business. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.S042: NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

In 2023, nearly two-thirds of Black adults who identified as LGBT in the U.S. believed that racism in health care was a major problem in the United States. Across all racial groups, U.S. adults who identified as LGBT were more likely to believe that racism is a major problem in health care in the U.S. as of August 2023.

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What would actually make America great: more people.

If the most challenging crisis in living memory has shown us anything, it’s that America has lost the will and the means to lead. We can’t compete with the huge population clusters of the global marketplace by keeping our population static or letting it diminish, or with our crumbling transit and unaffordable housing. The winner in the future world is going to have more—more ideas, more ambition, more utilization of resources, more people.

Exactly how many Americans do we need to win? According to Matthew Yglesias, one billion.

From one of our foremost policy writers, One Billion Americans is the provocative yet logical argument that if we aren’t moving forward, we’re losing. Vox founder Yglesias invites us to think bigger, while taking the problems of decline seriously. What really contributes to national prosperity should not be controversial: supporting parents and children, welcoming immigrants and their contributions, and exploring creative policies that support growth—like more housing, better transportation, improved education, revitalized welfare, and climate change mitigation. Drawing on examples and solutions from around the world, Yglesias shows not only that we can do this, but why we must.

Making the case for massive population growth with analytic rigor and imagination, One Billion Americans issues a radical but undeniable challenge: Why not do it all, and stay on top forever?

ISBN: 9780593290118 Published: Sep 15, 2020 By: Matthew Yglesias Read by: Matthew Yglesias

©2020 Matthew Yglesias (P)2020 Penguin Audio

This Voice of the People poll seeks the opinions of Canadians, on predominantly economic, political, and social issues. The questions ask opinions about corruption, democracy, government, and world issues. There are also questions on topics such as the reduction and elimination of incidences of torture, familiarity with global institutions, predictions about the next generation, public school trends, and public clinics/hospitals. There are also questions on other topics of interest such as problems facing Canada, private/public sector contribution to the improvement of social services, trust in people, and globalization/globalisation. The respondents were also asked questions so that they could be grouped according to geographic and social variables. Topics of interest include: economy; corruption; American foreign policy; politics; next generation; elections; public schools; public clinics/hospitals; torture; global institution; democracy; and trust. Basic demographic variables are also included.

This poll, fielded April 5-12, 2010, is a part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicits public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way that Barack Obama was handling his job as president, the economy, health care, and the federal budget deficit, what they liked best and least about Obama, whether they thought things in the country were going in the right direction, and what they thought was the most important problem facing the country. Information was collected on whether respondents approved or disapproved of the way Congress was handling its job, whether they approved or disapproved of the way their representative in Congress was handling their job, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of President Obama, how respondents would rate the national economy, and who they thought was mostly to blame for the state of the national economy. Respondents were queried on whether they thought that the government's stimulus package made the economy better or worse, whether they thought that the country needed a third political party, whether they would rather have a smaller government with fewer services or a bigger government providing more services, how they felt things were going in Washington, DC, whether they thought the federal government should spend money to create jobs even if it means increasing the budget deficit, and whether they would rather reduce the federal budget deficit or cut taxes. Respondents were also asked who they thought was to blame for the current federal budget deficit, whether they thought providing government money to banks and other financial institutions was necessary to get the economy out of a recession, whether they had a favorable or unfavorable opinion of the Republican Party, the Democratic Party, John McCain, George Bush, Ron Paul, Glen Beck, and Sarah Palin. Information was collected on what political figure the respondents admired most, whether they thought Sarah Palin would have the ability to be an effective president, whether they thought President Obama understands the need and problems of people like themselves, whether respondents thought he was more of a liberal, a moderate, or a conservative, whether they thought his policies were moving the country more towards socialism, whether they thought he favored a particular race over another, and whether they thought the Obama Administration had raised or lowered taxes for most Americans. Respondents were asked whether they thought that the federal government should require nearly all Americans to have health insurance, whether they thought it would be a good idea to raise income taxes on households that make more than $250,000 a year in order to help provide health insurance for people who do not already have it, whether they approved or disapproved of requiring health insurance companies to cover anyone who applies regardless of whether they have an existing medical condition, and whether they thought that the programs such as Social Security and Medicare are worth the cost of those programs for taxpayers. Respondents were queried on whether they thought legal immigration into the United States should be kept at its presents level, increased, or decreased, how serious a problem they thought illegal immigration was, whether they thought that global warming was causing a serious environmental problem, whether they thought gay couples should be allowed to marry, whether they thought abortion should be legal, whether they thought gun control law should be made more strict, what socialism means to them, and whether they thought it was ever justified for citizens to take violent action against the government. Respondents were also asked a number of questions about the Tea Party movement, including how much have they heard about it, whether they had a favorable opinion of it, whether they supported it, and whether they thought the Tea Party movement generally reflected the views of most Americans. Finally, respondents were asked if they were ever active in a political campaign, whether they purchased gold bars or coins in the past year, what political party they usually vote for, what news network they watched most, how concerned were they that they or someone in their household would lose their job in the next year, whe

Unemployment Rate in the United States decreased to 4.10 percent in June from 4.20 percent in May of 2025. This dataset provides the latest reported value for - United States Unemployment Rate - plus previous releases, historical high and low, short-term forecast and long-term prediction, economic calendar, survey consensus and news.

Graph and download economic data for Number of Large Domestic Banks That Eased and Reported That Improvement in Industry-Specific Problems Was Not an Important Reason (SUBLPDCIREINLGNQ) from Q2 1992 to Q2 2025 about ease, large, domestic, banks, depository institutions, industry, and USA.

United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Competit'n from Big Bus data was reported at 4.000 % in Mar 2025. This stayed constant from the previous number of 4.000 % for Feb 2025. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Competit'n from Big Bus data is updated monthly, averaging 8.000 % from Jan 2014 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 131 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 15.000 % in Sep 2017 and a record low of 0.000 % in May 2023. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Competit'n from Big Bus data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by National Federation of Independent Business. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.S042: NFIB Index of Small Business Optimism. [COVID-19-IMPACT]

This special topic poll, conducted April 30 to May 6, 1996, 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. This poll sought Americans' views on the most important problems facing the United States, their local communities and their own families. Respondents rated the public schools, crime, and drug problems at the national and local levels, their level of optimism about their own future and that of the country, and the reasons they felt that way. Respondents were asked whether they were better off financially than their parents were at their age, whether they expected their own children to be better off financially than they were, and whether the American Dream was still possible for most people. Respondents then compared their expectations about life to their actual experiences in areas such as job security, financial earnings, employment benefits, job opportunities, health care benefits, retirement savings, and leisure time. A series of questions asked whether the United States was in a long-term economic and moral decline, whether the country's main problems were caused more by a lack of economic opportunity or a lack of morality, and whether the United States was still the best country in the world. Additional topics covered immigration policy and the extent to which respondents trusted the federal, state, and local governments. Demographic variables included respondents' sex, age, race, education level, marital status, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration and participation history, labor union membership, the presence of children in the household, whether these children attended a public school, and the employment status of respondents and their spouses.

This poll, conducted June 22-25, 2006, is part of a continuing series of monthly polls that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of other political and social issues. Respondents were asked whether they approved of the way President George W. Bush was handling the presidency and issues such as the economy and the situation in Iraq. Several questions asked which political party respondents trusted to handle the main problems the country would face in the next few years, whether they would vote for a Democrat or Republican candidate if the November 2006 election for the United States House of Representatives were being held that day, and which issue was most important in their vote. Views were sought on the war in Iraq and whether it had improved the lives of the Iraqi people, encouraged democracy in other Arab nations, and contributed to the long-term security of the United States. Respondents were polled on whether the Bush Administration and the Democrats in the United States Congress had a clear plan for handling the situation in Iraq, how well the United States campaign against terrorism was going, whether the country was safer from terrorism than before September 11, 2001, and whether President Bush would be remembered more for the United States campaign against terrorism or the war in Iraq. A series of questions asked respondents whether they approved of the way United States military forces in Iraq were doing their job, whether a deadline should be set for their withdrawal from Iraq, and respondents' reactions to the alleged killings of Iraqi civilians by United States military forces. Additional topics addressed the death penalty, the federal government's detention of suspected terrorists without trial in the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and the federal government's progress in its efforts to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Demographic variables include sex, age, race, education level, household income, political party affiliation, political philosophy, voter registration status, religious preference, and whether respondents considered themselves born-again or evangelical Christians.

A 2024 survey found that over half of U.S. individuals indicated the cost of accessing treatment was the biggest problem facing the national healthcare system. This is much higher than the global average of 32 percent and is in line with the high cost of health care in the U.S. compared to other high-income countries. Bureaucracy along with a lack of staff were also considered to be pressing issues. This statistic reveals the share of individuals who said select problems were the biggest facing the health care system in the United States in 2024.

This poll is part of a continuing series of monthly surveys that solicit public opinion on the presidency and on a range of political, social, and economic issues. Conducted by ABC News in August of 1992, the poll focused on topics such as the effect of Ross Perot's withdrawal from the presidential race on voting preferences, evaluations of the current presidential and vice-presidential candidates, perceived responsibility for current economic conditions, and the federal government's lack of action on major problems facing the nation, the economy, and the budget deficit. Respondents were asked to rate the likelihood of their voting in the upcoming presidential election in light of their personal daily schedules and to indicate their voting preferences and strength of support for Bush, Clinton, and Perot. The poll also assessed how favorably respondents viewed the current presidential and vice-presidential candidates, and whether the respondent was satisfied that each candidate had the honesty, integrity, and ability to understand the problems of the average American and to serve effectively as president. Respondents were also asked to indicate which candidate would do the best job of dealing with family values, foreign affairs, the economy, the budget deficit, bringing needed change to government, and taxes. Bush and Clinton were also evaluated with regard to whether they had a vision for the future of the country, would get things done, and could be trusted in a crisis. Respondents were asked whether Bush or the Democrats in Congress were most responsible for the current economic conditions and the federal government's failure to act on major problems. With respect to the economy, respondents were asked whether they would be willing to contribute a percentage of their tax returns if it lowered the deficit by the same percent, whether the economy was getting better or worse, and which was more important: cutting federal taxes or spending more on domestic problems. Other items included respondents' assessments of the economic level of people Bush cared most about, and whether the United States should bomb Iraq if it believed Iraq was not in compliance with the terms of the cease-fire agreement. Demographic information includes political affiliation, political conservatism/liberalism, education, age, race, and gender.