William_T._Bianco,_David_T._Canon]_American_Polit

What Americans think about politics 225

who are in favor of a more active government are more likely to be defeated. At present,

opposition to government action is at nearly its highest level since the late 1980s.

Given these opinions, we should not expect a major expansion in the size and scope of

government, at least not until the public policy mood moves in a more activist direction.

Regarding more specific policy preferences, everything we have said in this chapter

reinforces the idea that public opinion is often a moving target. While some beliefs and

preferences are stable over time, opinions about specific policies can change from year

to year, month to month, or even day to day. One of the best ways to take a snapshot of

these beliefs is to ask citizens what they see as the top policy priorities facing the nation.

Figure 6.7 shows responses to a 2017 survey.

The top priorities—terrorism, the economy, education, Social Security, and health

care—have not changed very much over the last several decades. The only difference is

that terrorism appeared on the list only after the September 11 attacks in 2001. It is no

exaggeration to say that Americans are always worried about the economy. Even when other

pressing issues, such as terrorism, surpass the economy as the most important problem

to Americans, the economy is typically listed second or third. In general, as the state of

the economy declines, more and more people rate the economy as their greatest concern.

Moreover, the percentage of people who make reference to their personal economic

concerns—for example, unemployment or worries about retirement—also increases.

These policy priorities frame contemporary political debates and divide the political

parties. Think about what Republicans and Democrats in Washington argue about:

FIGURE

6.6

Source: Policy mood data available at http://stimson.web.unc.edu/data (accessed 10/1/18).

Policy Mood

Surveys assess the public’s policy mood by asking questions about specific policy questions such as

levels of taxation and government spending and the role of government. The level of conservatism (for

example, support for smaller, less-active government) was at a high in 1952 and 1980. Could you have

used the policy mood prior to the election to predict the outcomes of the 2018 congressional elections?

35

30

40

45

50%

Election of Ronald Reagan;

Republicans win control of

Senate in 1980

Democrats

win control

of Congress

in 2006

Election of Barack

Obama in 2008

Republicans win

control of House

in 2010

Election of Donald

Great Society and Trump in 2016

expansion of federal

government in 19 64

Percentage of

support for

smaller,

less-active

government

1952 1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 2017

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