Women in the 21st century could be forgiven for sometimes thinking they’ve been given a pretty rough deal. Balancing work pressures and family pressures is hard enough for anyone, but the ongoing debate about whether or not women can – or should – be expected to succeed at both reminds women that there are still some choices to be made, that – biologically, of course – men don’t have to make. In this week’s Economist/YouGov poll, 73% nationally think it’s possible for women in America to have a full-time job and do a good job of raising a family, rising ... read more

President Obama may be gaining something as the Republicans battle for their party’s presidential nomination. His approval rating in this week’s Economist/YouGov Poll (Week of 2/11/2012) is still below 50%, but he still leads all the GOP candidates in hypothetical fall horseraces.  This week, 43% say they approve of the way the President is handling his job; 47% disapprove.    Still, Mr. Obama leads former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney by five points if they became the nominees; he leads former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum by seven, Texas Congressman Ron Paul by eight, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich by 15.  Economist/YouGov poll archives can found here. Photo source: Press ... read more

One fact nearly all Republican primary voters know is that former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney is a Mormon. 83% of GOP voters in the latest Economist/YouGov Poll (Week of 2/11/2012) say he is. By contrast, less than half of Republican voters know that Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are Catholics. The issue for Romney is that nearly half of GOP voters say it is important that a "true conservative" (something many Republicans say they are looking for in a nominee) be a "true Christian guided by Christian beliefs and morals." And for at least some Republican voters, Mormons don’t qualify. Last week, less than half of GOP voters ... read more

Women have had a better perception of Unilever’s Axe brand than men since the company launched its first fragrance in the US targeting both sexes, Anarchy. In early January, men and women had relatively equal perceptions of the Axe brand. A couple of weeks later, women began breaking away in a positive direction while men remained stable in their perception. Once the fragrance premiered its cheeky “Unleash the chaos” Anarchy ads showing both men and women succumbing to the “Axe effect,” woman’s perception levels nearly doubled before dipping a bit more recently. Men, on the other hand, showed a similar ... read more

GOP voters’ level of satisfaction with their choices this year has risen and fallen, as the fortunes of conservative candidates rise and those of former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney have slipped. Three weeks ago, after former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s victory in the South Carolina primary, 58% of GOP voters said they were satisfied with their choices; a week later, that dropped to 44%. In this week’s Economist/YouGov Poll (Week of 2/11/2012), conducted after former Pennsylvania Governor Rick Santorum’s triple victory last Tuesday, satisfaction is back up a bit. 49% of GOP voters are satisfied.    Republican voters are quite knowledgeable about the candidates still in the running. Seven ... read more

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum’s three wins last Tuesday raised his stock with Republican voters: he is now the clear leader in the latest Economist/YouGov national poll (Week of 2/11/2012).    Santorum’s rise has been dramatic. Last week, he was tied for third place with Texas Congressman Ron Paul at 16%, 16 points behind the then-frontrunner, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. This week, Santorum’s support has nearly doubled. 29% of registered voters who usually vote in Republican primaries favor him for the nomination. Meanwhile, Romney has dropped five points; former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has lost seven points.  Santorum’s rise has come from two groups: Republican voters who ... read more

More Americans Like Higher Taxes on Wealthy over Punishing the Unemployed to Pay for Payroll Tax, Unemployment Benefit and Medicare Doctors’-Reimbursement Compromise Congress succeeded in reaching a compromise on extending the payroll tax cut through the end of 2012 before the February 29 deadline for the payroll tax cut’s demise, and also extended unemployment benefits and higher reimbursements for doctors treating Medicare patients, according to the latest Economist/YouGov Poll (Week of 2/11/2012).  Good thing:  60% of Americans are satisfied or enthusiastic about the current 4.2% payroll tax rate, and 54% would have been dissatisfied or angry to see the rate ... read more

 “Greed is good. Greed works.” Gordon Gekko, hero of the 1987 movie Wall Street, was the unabashed proponent of wealth and capitalism.  For Gekko greed was good and lunch was for wimps. Fast forward twenty-five years, through one of the world’s worst financial crises, and greed is looking considerably less attractive. 62% of our responders thought that of all the seven deadly sins, greed was the biggest problem for our country, and 52% thought that it was the most evil of the sins.  Political affiliation and household income impacted responses.  68% of Democrats cited greed as the country’s biggest problem ... read more

For Democrats and Liberals, Failure to Get a Tax Increase on People Earning $250,000 or More May be a Deal Breaker.  On the topic of taxing the rich, Democrats seem to enjoy an enthusiasm gap over Republicans.  Four-in-five Democrats (80%) and liberals (84%) favor increasing taxes on families making over $250,000 per year.  Only 8% of Democrats and 4% of liberals oppose taxing high income Americans, according to the latest Economist/YouGov Poll (Week of 2/11/2012). By contrast, among Republicans 34% favor and 52% oppose; among conservatives, the same (34% favor, 52% oppose). For Democrats, failure to push for higher taxes ... read more