The US presidential race is heating up as Romney is now the presumed GOP candidate and President Obama is making fundraising tours. The recent ruling by the Supreme Court to affirm the Individual Mandate has re-sparked the healthcare debate however is this really the most important issue? A recent survey by Gallop reveals that while the debate has turned to healthcare, that’s one of American’s least critical issues:
The state of the economy is undoubtedly a factor in Americans’ generally sour mood. Sixty-eight percent of Americans mention some aspect of the economy when asked about the most important problem facing the country today, with the economy in general (31%) and unemployment (25%) most often mentioned as specific concerns.
Americans are a bit less likely now than just before Obama took office (79%) to mention any economic issue as the most important problem facing the country. Since that time, there has been a significant drop in the percentage mentioning the economy in general as the most important problem (from 57%), but an increase in the percentage mentioning unemployment (from 11%).
The economy and unemployment have ranked first and second on the most important problem list each month since December 2009.
After those two issues, Americans’ next-biggest concerns are dissatisfaction with government, mentioned by 12%, and the federal budget deficit, mentioned by 11%.
