Just 17% of Americans Satisfied With How Things are Going in United States

Gallup has been asking this question since 1979, and 2011 is the second lowest year on record (behind the 15% from 2008).
Gallup asks the question "Are you satisfied with the way things are going in the United States?" throughout the year. 26% of people answered "yes" in May of 2011, shortly after Osama Bin Laden had been killed. Satisfaction fell to as low as 11% in both August and September thanks to the fight over the nation’s debt ceiling and the subsequent credit downgrade from S&P.
In case you were curious, in the most recently conducted poll (Dec 15-18), the "satisfaction level" in the United States was 15%.
--
For the sake of comparison, the highest satisfaction level on record is 60%, and this was achieved in 1986, 1998 and 2000. Since 2000 the results have gone straight down, dropping to 46% in 2003, 31% in 2006 and just 15% in 2008.
--
Gallup also asked Americans what they thought was the most important problem that is currently facing the United States. Here is a breakdown of the top five responses:
Economy in General - 26%
Unemployment/Jobs - 25%
Dissatisfaction with Government/Politicians - 16%
Federal Budget Deficit - 12%
Ethical/Moral Decline - 6%
Source: Gallup.com - U.S. Satisfaction in 2011 Ranks as Second Lowest Since 1979
Filed under: The Economic Meltdown