Americans hope for better 2014, poll finds
Health law, shutdown, Mandela were top news stories in 2013
WASHINGTON – Large numbers of Americans see 2013 as anything but a banner year and aren’t reluctant to wave goodbye on New Year’s Eve, a new AP-Times Square poll said, reflecting anxiety stretching from the corridors of power in Washington to corporate boardrooms, statehouses, and city and town halls.
Although the poll shows people generally are looking forward to the new year with optimism and no blatant sense of foreboding, it also unmasks pent-up worries about international crises and instability, and concerns at home about the standard of living, health care and schools.
What the public thought of 2013:
Good year or good riddance?
On the whole, Americans rate their own experience in 2013 more positively than negatively, but when asked to assess the year for the United States or the world at large, things turn sour.
• All told, 32 percent said 2013 was a better year for them than 2012, while 20 percent said it was worse and 46 percent said the two years were really about the same. Young people were more apt to see improvement: 40 percent of people under age 30 called 2013 a better year than 2012, compared with 25 percent of people age 65 or older.
• The public splits evenly on how the year turned out for the country, 25 percent saying it was better than 2012, 25 percent saying it was worse. As with most questions about the state of affairs in the U.S. these days, there’s a sharp partisan divide. Democrats are more apt to say the U.S. turned out better in 2013 than 2012 (37 percent) than are Republicans (17 percent).
• Thinking about the world at large, 30 percent said 2013 was worse than 2012, while just 20 percent said it was better.
But the outlook for the new year is positive: 49 percent think their own fortunes will improve in 2014, 14 percent are anticipating the new year to be a downgrade from the old. Thirty-four percent said they don’t expect much to change.
Where’s the party?
Most Americans – 54 percent – said they’ll be ringing in the new year at home, while 1 in 5 are heading to a friend’s or family member’s house. Only 8 percent said they’ll go to a bar, restaurant or other organized event.
• Younger Americans are least apt to spend the holiday at home: 39 percent of those under age 30 will celebrate at home, 33 percent at someone else’s home, 13 percent at a bar or other venue.
• Regardless of their own time zone, nearly 6 in 10 said they’ll watch at least some of the celebration from New York City’s Times Square.
Countdown companions
Wherever they’re spending the holiday, most Americans prefer the company of family. Asked with whom they want to be when the clock strikes midnight, 83 percent name a family member.
• On a holiday often sealed with a kiss, nearly 4 in 10 say they most want to be next to their spouse, and 13 percent cite a significant other or romantic interest as a preferred companion. Parents like to be with their children more than the children like to be with their parents.
• Less conventional choices: 2 percent cite their pets, 3 percent God, Jesus or their religious congregation, and less than 1 percent said they wanted to ring it in with their co-workers.
• Of course, some opt out altogether: 18 percent said they’re not planning to celebrate on New Year’s Eve, and 9 percent said there’s no one with whom they’d like to party, preferring instead their pillow, TiVo or their own thoughts.
What mattered in news
The implementation of the health care law topped the list of the most important news stories of 2013, with 26 percent citing it. In an Associated Press survey of news directors and editors, 45 of 144 journalists surveyed called the health care rollout their top story.
In the AP-Times Square poll, the death of Nelson Mandela occurred as the poll was underway. It rose quickly, with 8 percent naming it as the most important news of the year, matching the share citing the federal government’s budget difficulties or shutdown.
The budget fight, which led to a partial shutdown of the federal government in October, was rated extremely or very important by 60 percent of Americans, and it prompted rare bipartisan agreement. About two-thirds in each major party, 65 percent of Republicans and 63 percent of Democrats, rated it highly important.
A majority said the Boston Marathon bombings were extremely or very important, and 47 percent considered the national debate over gun laws that important.