Americans want next president to prioritize job creation, reducing corruption: poll

Source:Xinhua Published: 2012-7-31 9:55:29

Most Americans want the next US president to prioritize creating good jobs and reducing corruption in the federal government, according to a poll released Monday.

Ninety-two percent of Americans surveyed said that the next president should prioritize creating good jobs, with 48 percent rating it as "extremely important," found the USA Today/Gallup poll, which asked the respondents to rate top 12 issues as priorities for the next president to address.

The poll was conducted on July 19-22 with a random sample of 1, 030 American adults, and it has an error margin of 4 percent.

Reducing corruption in the federal government came as the second on the list, with 87 percent of the surveyed Americans saying they want the next president to do so, said the poll.

Cutting the federal budget deficit and dealing with terrorism and other international threats are also top on the Americans' minds, with 86 percent saying they should be among the top priorities for the next president.

Meanwhile, 85 percent of Americans said that ensuring the long- term stability of Social Security and Medicare should be one of the top priorities for the next president, while 83 percent believed that improving the nation's public schools is a top priority.

Other priorities on the list included "setting high moral standards for the nation," "making healthcare available and affordable," "overcoming political gridlock in Washington," and " making college education available and affordable."

Fifty-two percent said the next president should prioritize dealing with environmental concerns, including global warming, while 49 percent said increasing taxes on wealthy Americans should be a top priority.

Supporters of President Barack Obama, who is seeking reelection, and the presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney usually disagree on how to address the major issues facing the country, but they both rated job creation and reducing government corruption among their top priorities for the next president, the Gallup said in a report.

With unemployment hovering above 8 percent for the past year, this year's US presidential election has been dominated by the debate on job creation.

"As of now, Americans believe Romney is better able to handle jobs and the deficit than Obama is. Still, the two candidates remain locked in a tight race, with voters' presidential preferences evenly divided," the Gallup said.



Posted in: Americas

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