Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

babylonsister

(170,963 posts)
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 06:00 PM Aug 2016

Life got better for pretty much everyone under Obama, Gallup poll finds

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/ct-gallup-president-obama-20160831-story.html

Life got better for pretty much everyone under Obama, Gallup poll finds
Barack Obama


How Americans feel about the state of their lives have improved markedly in the eight years since Barack Obama was elected president, according to Gallup data released Tuesday.

In 2008, fewer than half of Americans said their life was good enough to be considered "thriving," according to Gallup. But that's changed: "The 55.4% who are thriving so far in 2016 is on pace to be the highest recorded in the nine years Gallup and Healthways have tracked it," according to the report.

Not only that, members of each ethnic or racial group in Gallup's study feel better about their lives.

"The percentages of U.S. whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians who are thriving have all increased during the Obama era," Gallup notes. The percentage of blacks thriving has risen by about 6 points, as has the percentage of whites and Hispanics. Asian thriving has risen by about 10 points since 2008.

Gallup measures "thriving" according to how poll respondents rate both their current lives and their expectations for life in the future. On a scale of zero to 10, "those who rate their present life a 7 or higher and their life in five years an 8 or higher are classified as thriving."

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump recently made a much-criticized pitch to black voters, asking them "what do you have to lose" by voting for Trump over Hillary. This has prompted a number of black voters to respond with what, exactly, they'd be worried about losing in a Trump presidency, from civil rights to recent gains in employment, income and education.

The Gallup numbers, showing improving self-assessments of blacks' quality of life, reflect this. They also show that, contrary to some perceptions that white Americans have been losing out, Obama-era gains aren't limited to just one racial or ethnic group. Gallup notes that Obama's second term "shows an improvement in whites' life evaluations -- particularly those of white Republicans." In a previous 2013-2015 Gallup survey, about 55 percent of white Republicans were thriving, up from 51 percent in the 2011-2012 survey.

Of course, no president has the power to wave a magic wand and make peoples' lives better. These measure is likely an indicator of the variety of factors influencing people's lives that presidents have limited control over -- the economy chief among them. In 2008, for instance, the country was in the midst of the Great Recession. An increase in the percentage of people calling themselves thriving since then is hardly surprising. Certainly, economic policies have been central to Obama's administration, including the 2009 stimulus package and the $80 billion auto-industry bailout. But his supporters and detractors disagree on the extent to which those policies helped pull the country out of the recession. Factors largely out of his control, like the Federal Reserve's lowering of interest rates and the U.S. energy boom that cut fuel prices - arguably played even bigger roles.

The Gallup numbers suggest that for many Americans, fewer things today need fixing than they did eight years ago.
4 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Life got better for pretty much everyone under Obama, Gallup poll finds (Original Post) babylonsister Aug 2016 OP
He won't get proper credit until he's been out of office for at least one term. The media & his.... Tarheel_Dem Aug 2016 #1
Yes, I know you're right. babylonsister Aug 2016 #2
Yes We Do! Tarheel_Dem Aug 2016 #3
Considering being handed a catastrophic economy by the same agents who would orpupilofnature57 Aug 2016 #4

Tarheel_Dem

(31,211 posts)
1. He won't get proper credit until he's been out of office for at least one term. The media & his....
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 06:27 PM
Aug 2016

detractors on both the left & the right are loathed to give him credit for anything, but never miss an opportunity to blame him for damn near everything. But at least he has a sense of humor about all the negativity.

 

orpupilofnature57

(15,472 posts)
4. Considering being handed a catastrophic economy by the same agents who would
Wed Aug 31, 2016, 06:34 PM
Aug 2016

obstruct him, from his first address as President he did great .

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Life got better for prett...