In the heat of the loud and angry 2016 political battles, it would seem that Republicans, Democrats, and independents don’t agree on much. And they don’t. But they do agree that lowering unemployment needs to be a priority and that Social Security must be protected. In a recent Associated Press-National Opinion Research Center (NORC) poll 81 percent of Americans said it is important for government to reduce unemployment and 85 percent believe that securing the future of Social Security is extremely or very important for the next president. Slightly more Democrats rated these as important issues—84% for reducing unemployment and 89% for defending Social Security.
Once you get beyond these two hot button issues, Democrats and Republicans diverge, according to the poll results. “Democrats attach far more importance than do Republicans to narrowing the gap between rich and poor, reducing poverty and increasing wages to keep up with the cost of living,” the AP says. “Republicans place far more importance than Democrats on shrinking the federal deficit, reducing government regulation and reforming welfare. So while Americans of all stripes consistently put the economy at or near the top of their most important issues, they sometimes have very different concerns when they do so.”
