On the Issues

“Had I been Heenan, I would have responded to Marshall’s comment…and then move on to important issues such as health care.”
 
That’s from James Conner over at Flathead Memo.
 
It’s a post about a nothing-story that has no impact on your life.
 
It doesn’t matter.
 
So what does matter?
 
I put that quote up because I like that last part, the “important issues” bit.
 
Well…what are the important issues?
 

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According to Gallup’s September poll, 17% of Americans feel that economic problems are the most important, while 82% feel non-economic problems are paramount.
 
How does this break down?
 

• 18% of people are dissatisfied with government/poor leadership.

 

• 12% of people feel that race relations/racism is the biggest issue in the U.S.

 

• 11% think immigration/illegal aliens is our most critical issue.

 

• 8% feel that unifying the country is what we need to focus on.

 

• 6% think the economy in general is where we should focus.

 

• 6% think the situation with North Korea is our most-pressing issue.

 

• 6% think it’s healthcare.

 

• 4% think it’s unemployment/jobs.

 

• 4% think natural disaster response/relief efforts are the most important.

 

• 4% think ethics/moral/religious/family decline is a concern.

 

• 3% think that environment/pollution is the #1 issue.

 

• 3% think crime/violence is where our attention should be.

 

• 3% think the media is the problem.

 

• 2% want to focus on taxes.

 

• 2% want to focus on the federal budget deficit/federal debt.

 

• 2% want to focus on the gap between the rich and poor.

 

• 1% of the population is concerned about terrorism

 

• 1% of people are concerned about the high cost of living/inflation.

 
Gallup has been doing polls since 1935 and they do 500 interviews a day. I think there’s some validity to these numbers.
 
Back in March, 26% of the country thought economic issues were the most important, but that’s fallen to 17% today.
 
Non-economic issues went from 75% to 82%.
 
Most people are just pissed-off at their government. That’s the #1 problem in America, most people say. A big part of this is the performance of Donald Trump.
 
People don’t like him. Many hate him.
 
The second biggest issue in America is racism.
 
The third is immigration and the fourth is unifying the country.
 
Abortion, gun control, and Russian hacking didn’t make the list.
 
Neither did food stamps, Social Security, or renewable energy sources.
 
And what about in Montana?
 
Two years ago I did a poll and we found that the price of healthcare coverage was the most important component of the healthcare debate.
 

• We found out that 57% of people thought property taxes were the most important tax issue, followed by 29% saying income taxes were it.

 

• When it came to our schools, 29% said administrators were the most important component, 29% said quality of teaching was critical, and 29% said the overall cost was a concern.

 

• On the social issues front, 57% said higher education was our #1 issue while 14% said K-12 education, 14% said animal rights, and 14% said guns.

 

• On the economic front, 57% said money in politics is what we should focus on, while 29% said student debt and 14% said jobs.

 

• When it came to environmental issues, 57% said water issues are the most important and 29% said renewables.

 
It’s hard to say why people choose a #1 issue. Income levels, education, family background and a myriad of other variables all factor into it.
 
I wonder what your #1 issue is.