America’s Current Politics: The Consumer’s Perspective Scott Keeter Director of Survey Research Consumer Federation of America Consumer Assembly 2014 Washington, DC March 20, 2014

How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in Washington to do what is right? 53 36 25 47 17 60 Current: 68% “Only Some of the time” 12% “Never” (VOL.) Pew Research, Gallup, CNN, ABC/Washington Post, CBS/New York Times, National Election Survey

Does the Federal Government Threaten Your Personal Rights and Freedoms?

The Political Consequences of Distrust Pew Research, Gallup, CNN, ABC/Washington Post, CBS/New York Times, National Election Survey

Government Favorability Ratings   1987/ 1988 1997/ 1998 2013 98-13 Change % Congress 64 53 23 -30 Supreme Court 79 77 48 -29 Federal agencies and departments   FDA 74 75 65 -10 Dep’t of Education 60 61 -8 EPA 62 69 -7 Postal Service 76 89 83* -6 Defense Department 57 72 -4 CDC -- NASA 66 73 Justice Department 56 +5 IRS 49 38 44 +6 Veterans Admin. 59 68 +9 * 2010 trend Pew Research Center

In Most Areas, More See Too Little than Too Much Regulation View of federal regulations in these areas … Strengthen Keep as they are Reduce DK % %  Food production & packaging 53 36 7 4=100 Environmental protection 50 29 17 Car safety & efficiency 45 42 9 3=100 Workplace health & safety 41 10 Prescription drugs 39 33 20 8=100 View of federal regulations of these businesses … Too little Right amount Too much Banks & financial institutions 43 30 7=100 Large corporations 19 31 Oil & gas industry 44 14 Health insurance industry 40 18 37 5=100 Small businesses 21 23 49 Pew Research Center

Are the Problems Bigger? Are We Part of the Problem? The government is facing more difficult problems than in the past Americans aren’t willing to pay for the things they want government to do

The Current Climate: Compromise I prefer elected officials who… SOURCE: Pew Research Center, Jan. 2013

In 1960, the population of the U. S In 1960, the population of the U.S. was 85% white; by 2060, it will be 43% white. Click

And we’re not just becoming less white, we’re becoming more like a rainbow. Click

Marriage and Race/Ethnicity

1960 This is what demographers call an age pyramid. Each bar represents a five year ago cohort, with the zero to fours on the bottom and the 85 pluses on the top. In every society since the start of history…

1850 …whenever you broke down any population this way, you’d always get a pyramid.

1900 Over the centuries the angles grew less acute -- because people lived longer -- but it's always been a pyramid. 

1960 Now let’s watch what happens to our age pyramid in the century between 1960 and 2060. Click ONCE (animation will play and stop on its own) It turns into a rectangle.

1980

1990

2000

2010

2020

2030

2040

2050

2060 By 2060, we’ll have more Americans over age 85 than under age 5. This is uncharted territory, not just for us, but for all of humanity. This is the product…

Here we see China’s rectangle …

And if we look at Germany, it’s not a rectangle but it’s becoming a top-heavy trapezoid.

Japan's median age by then will be 53, compared with our 41. Japan will be the oldest country in human history and if you don’t have enough young people to take care of your old people, you need to improvise. Small wonder that Japan is leading the world in the manufacture of caretaker robots. Debt to GDP. Click

What about the Next Generation?

Religious Un-Affiliation is Generational

Percent Married, Ages 18-32

Millennials Increasingly Identify as Political Independents

Trend in Millennials’ Party/Leaned Party ID

Younger Americans Hardest Hit by Recession Change in Median Net Worth by Age of Householder, 2005-09 Rising Share of Young Adults Living in Multi-Generational Households SOURCE: Pew Research Center tabulations of Census and Survey of Income and Program Participation data

Obama Job Approval Declines across Generations % of each generation who approve of the job Obama is doing as president

Millennials Less Conservative than Older Generations Identify as conservative Identify as liberal

Generational Differences on Immigration, Size of Government % saying immigrants now living in the U.S. illegally should … % saying they would rather have …

Modest Generational Differences in Views of Abortion, Gun Control % saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases % saying it’s more important to control gun ownership than protect gun rights

% saying programs that benefit … should be the higher priority Millennials Say Government Programs for the Young Should Get More Priority % saying programs that benefit … should be the higher priority

Majorities across Generations Oppose Cuts in Social Security Benefits Thinking about the long-term future of Social Security … (%)

America’s Current Politics: The Consumer’s Perspective Scott Keeter Director of Survey Research Consumer Federation of America Consumer Assembly 2014 Washington, DC March 20, 2014