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 .

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.

A survey conducted in July 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.

Graph and download economic data for Corporate Issues, Bonds and Notes, Including Refunding, U.S., Canadian and Foreign (M10028M144NNBR) from Jan 1906 to Dec 1940 about notes, issues, foreign, Canada, bonds, corporate, and USA.

November's Institute of Medicine (IOM) report on medical errors has sparked debate among US health policy makers as to the appropriate response to the problem. Proposals range from the implementation of nationwide mandatory reporting with public release of performance data to voluntary reporting and quality-assurance efforts that protect the confidentiality of error-related data. Any successful safety program will require a national effort to make significant investments in information technology infrastructure, and to provide an environment and education that enables providers to contribute to an active quality-improvement process.

This study is part of a quadrennial series designed to investigate the opinions and attitudes of both the general public and a select group of opinion leaders (or elites) on matters relating to foreign policy, and to define the parameters of public opinion within which decision-makers must operate. Both general public and elite respondents were queried regarding the biggest problems facing the United States, the spending levels for various federal government programs, the role of Congress in determining foreign policy, the impact of foreign policy on issues like prices and unemployment, and the Clinton Administration's handling of various problems such as the overall foreign policy, the overall trade policy, immigration, and the relations with Latin America, Japan, Russia, Cuba, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Questions were also asked about the government's reactions to the ongoing situations in Bosnia, North Korea, Haiti, Cuba, Rwanda, and the Middle East, the importance of various countries to America's vital interests, and possible adversaries or threats to the United States in the near future. Issues like the presence of NATO troops in Western Europe, the military role of Japan and Germany, the economic unification of Western Europe, the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and the illegal drugs problem were also explored. In addition, the elites were asked several questions about their political party affiliation and the strength of that affiliation. Demographic data such as religious preference, marital status, employment status, household composition, education, age, Hispanic origin, race, sex, and income were only collected for the general population sample.

According to a 2023 survey, young adults in the United States were divided when it came to important political issues. However, more than half of Americans between ** and ** considered the cost of living and inflation the most important political issue.

Graph and download economic data for United States Government Securities, Nine to Twelve Month Issues for United States (M13056USM193NNBR) from Jan 1943 to Nov 1970 about issues, 1-year, securities, government, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Yields on United States Government Securities, Three to Five Year Issues for United States (M13057USM193NNBR) from Jan 1945 to Dec 1965 about issues, yield, securities, 5-year, government, interest rate, interest, rate, and USA.

United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Others data was reported at 5.000 % in Mar 2025. This records a decrease from the previous number of 6.000 % for Feb 2025. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Others data is updated monthly, averaging 7.000 % from Jan 2014 (Median) to Mar 2025, with 131 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 11.000 % in May 2023 and a record low of 3.000 % in Jul 2024. United States SBOI: sa: Most Pressing Problem: A Year Ago: Others 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]

According to a 2024 survey just after the 2024 election, young adults in the United States were divided when it came to important political issues such as border security, gun violence prevention, and addressing climate change. However, the majority of young Americans considered the cost of living and inflation a top political issue, regardless of their race and ethnicity.

This study was a joint project of ten major United States cities participating in the Urban Observatory Program: Atlanta, Albuquerque, Baltimore, Boston, Denver, Kansas City, Kansas, Kansas City, Missouri, Milwaukee, Nashville, and San Diego. The survey focused on citizens' perceptions of the problems of urban life. Citizens' attitudes toward local government services and their opinions about local problems in the areas of schooling, housing, public transportation, controlled drugs, law and order, and taxes were assessed in all ten cities. Information on the socioeconomic status of the respondents, and on household composition was also elicited. Demographic data include sex, age, marital status, race, ethnicity, birthplace, level of education, and family income. Each city may be analyzed separately or may be treated as an integral part of the comparative study.

The current political discourse in the United States focuses on extreme political polarization as a contributor to ills ranging from government shutdowns to awkward family holidays. And indeed, a large body of research has documented differences between liberals and conservatives–primarily focused on Republicans and Democrats in the United States. We combine large international surveys and more fine-grained surveys of United States citizens to compare differences in opinion between Republicans and Democrats to the full range of world opinion on moral issues (N = 37,653 in 39 countries) and issues of free speech (N = 40,786 in 38 countries). When viewed in the full distribution, polarization between Democrats and Republicans appears relatively small, even on divisive issues such as abortion, sexual preference, and freedom of religious speech. The average Democrat-Republic overlap is greater than 70% of the country pair overlaps across eight moral issues, meaning that 70% of the country pairs are more dissimilar from each other than Democrats and Republicans are dissimilar; similarly, the average Democrat-Republic overlap is greater than 79% of the country pair overlaps across five freedom of speech issues. These results suggest that cross-cultural comparisons are useful for putting differences between political partisans within the same country in context.

This report provides methodological information on how to obtain estimates of behavioral health outcomes for populations living on and off tribal lands and provides some initial estimates using NSDUH 2005 to 2014 data.

Graph and download economic data for Corporate Issues, Stocks, Including Refunds, U.S., Canadian, and Foreign (M10029M144NNBR) from Jan 1906 to Oct 1942 about issues, foreign, Canada, corporate, and USA.

United States SB: MA: Challenges (CH): Difficulties Hiring Employees: Yes data was reported at 33.100 % in 11 Apr 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 33.700 % for 04 Apr 2022. United States SB: MA: Challenges (CH): Difficulties Hiring Employees: Yes data is updated weekly, averaging 25.700 % from Nov 2021 (Median) to 11 Apr 2022, with 18 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.300 % in 21 Mar 2022 and a record low of 25.700 % in 10 Jan 2022. United States SB: MA: Challenges (CH): Difficulties Hiring Employees: Yes data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.S: Small Business Pulse Survey: by State: Northeast Region: Weekly, Beg Monday (Discontinued).

United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Stocks data was reported at 12.197 USD bn in May 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 7.681 USD bn for Apr 2018. United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Stocks data is updated monthly, averaging 11.863 USD bn from Feb 2003 (Median) to May 2018, with 184 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 67.729 USD bn in May 2009 and a record low of 1.302 USD bn in Dec 2008. United States New Security Issues: US Corporations: Stocks data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.Z030: New Security Issues: Corporations.

Graph and download economic data for Government-Sponsored Enterprises; GSE Issues of FICO; Liability, Transactions (BOGZ1FU403161763A) from 1946 to 2024 about GSE, issues, transactions, liabilities, and USA.

Graph and download economic data for Government-Sponsored Enterprises; GSE Issues; Liability, Transactions (BOGZ1FA403161705A) from 1946 to 2024 about GSE, issues, transactions, liabilities, and USA.

United States New Security Issues: SL: Proceeds: Education data was reported at 5.836 USD bn in May 2018. This records an increase from the previous number of 4.349 USD bn for Apr 2018. United States New Security Issues: SL: Proceeds: Education data is updated monthly, averaging 4.632 USD bn from Mar 2003 (Median) to May 2018, with 183 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 37.086 USD bn in Nov 2014 and a record low of 1.566 USD bn in Jan 2013. United States New Security Issues: SL: Proceeds: Education data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal Reserve Board. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.Z031: New Security Issues: State and Local Governments.