Poll: U.S. economy improving despite global events

said Shawn DuBravac, an economist with the Consumer Electronics Association, who analyzed the findings.

The outlook for employment rose slightly, reaching a 12-year high. No firms reported significant layoffs, with the only reductions coming from already planned cuts.

Sales increased for the third consecutive quarter, profit margins continued to improve and the number of economists whose firms increased spending over the previous quarter held steady. Nearly all of the 72 economists surveyed, about 94%, now expect the economy to grow at least 2% in 2011.

The quarterly survey includes the views of economists for private companies and trade groups who are NABE members. The data are reported by broad industry groupings. Many results in the survey are expressed through the Net Rising Index, or NRI

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Fox News Poll: Voters Say They’re Getting a Bad Deal for Their Tax Dollars

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As the tax filing deadline approaches, most American voters feel they are getting a bad deal for their money. In addition, more voters think their tax dollars are spent less carefully these days than think they are spent just as carefully, or with more care than they were before.

A Fox News poll released Thursday asked voters to consider all the things the government does and all the services used that are paid for with taxpayer dollars, and found 60 percent feel they are getting a

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Fox News Poll: 83% Think Nuclear Crisis Like Japan Could Happen in U.S.

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Most American voters think a nuclear crisis like what is happening in Japan could happen in the United States. In addition, the number believing nuclear power is not safe is on the rise.

Fully 83 percent of voters think a disaster similar to Japan’s could happen in the U.S., while a small 15-percent minority doesn’t think so. That’s according to a Fox News poll released Friday.

No gender gap or partisan divide on that issue: most men, women, Democrats, Republicans and independents all agree it’s possible a major nuclear crisis could happen here. However, voters ages 30 and younger (27 percent) are about twice as likely as those 55 and over (14 percent) to believe a crisis like Japan’s could not happen.

Click here for complete poll results.

All in all, views on the safety of nuclear energy are more negative since the disaster. The new poll found 44 percent do not think nuclear power is a safe energy source. That’s up from 40 percent the week of the Japan earthquake (March 14-16), and 34 percent three years ago (June 2008).

Yet nearly half of voters -- 49 percent -- continue to believe nuclear power is safe, compared to 51 percent who thought so in March, and 53 percent in 2008.

Men (59 percent) are much more likely than women (40 percent) to believe nuclear power is safe.

Independents (57 percent) and Republicans (55 percent) are more inclined than Democrats (40 percent) to say it is safe.

What If Gas Prices Hit $7 a Gallon?

Finally, with the rise of gasoline prices across the country, the poll asked how voters would react if prices hit seven dollars a gallon. Most -- 70 percent -- say they would be more likely to demand the government increase supply through more domestic drilling, while 23 percent would accept that environmental standards prevent more drilling and learn to accept paying higher prices.

Democrats (31 percent) are almost three times as likely as Republicans (11 percent) to say they would learn to accept paying the higher prices.

The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 914 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from April 3 to April 5. For the total sample, it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

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Fox News Poll: More Americans Want a New President Than Want Obama to Stay

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Forty-four percent of American voters think President Obama deserves to be re-elected, while slightly more -- 48 percent -- think the country would be better off with someone else, according to a Fox News poll released Thursday.

In December, when the Fox poll last asked that question, 35 percent of voters said he deserved to win re-election, while a 53 percent majority disagreed.

The bump in Obama’s re-elect number comes mainly from Democrats: 78 percent think he deserves re-election now compared to 67 percent who thought so in December. About one in six Democrats (16 percent) think the country would be better off with someone else as president.

Most Republicans (83 percent) and half of independents (51 percent) don’t think Obama deserves re-election.

Click here for complete poll results.

President Obama announced his 2012 re-election campaign Monday, in the middle of when the Fox News poll was being conducted (Sunday through Tuesday).

At 44 percent, the president’s re-elect number is slightly higher than the number of voters who approve of how he’s handling the economy (40 percent approve), job creation (41 percent approve), and Libya (42 percent approve).

All in all, 49 percent of voters approve of President Obama’s job performance and 47 percent disapprove. Last month, 49 percent approved and 44 percent disapproved.

A majority of voters -- 56 percent -- believes Obama enjoys being president. One-third believes instead that Obama’s frustrated a lot of the time (34 percent). In a fairly rare instance of partisan agreement these days, majorities of Democrats (59 percent), Republicans (56 percent) and half of independents (50 percent) agree that Obama likes his job.

In addition, while 49 percent of Democrats are looking forward to the 2012 presidential campaign, over half of Republicans (51 percent) and independents (54 percent) are dreading it.

Potential GOP 2012 Contenders

One thing that could be helping the president’s re-elect number and dampening Republican enthusiasm for the 2012 campaign is not only the absence of a specific opponent, but also the disappointment in potential prospects. Half of Republicans (50 percent) and over half of conservatives (53 percent) say they are unimpressed with the Republicans who have expressed an interest in challenging Obama.

More than seven in 10 independents (72 percent) also say they are not impressed with possible Republican challengers.

Among political groups, the Tea Party is the only group with more people impressed (53 percent) than unimpressed (43 percent) with the list of potential 2012 Republican contenders.

When Republican voters are read a list of potential candidates for the 2012 nomination, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee (15 percent) and former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney (14 percent) are the top two choices. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is their third choice (12 percent), followed closely by businessman Donald Trump (11 percent). Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani comes in at 9 percent and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 7 percent. The remaining candidates receive less than 5 percent.

Additional Findings from the Poll

During the 2008 presidential campaign, President Obama committed to having the most open and transparent administration ever. Some 29 percent of voters think he has accomplished that. However, 27 percent think the Obama administration is less open and transparent than previous administrations, and another 42 percent say it has been about as transparent as others.

The poll found an overwhelming 88 percent of American voters think it is a good idea to require U.S. citizens to show identification before being allowed to vote in elections. Nine percent think this is a bad idea.

The Fox News poll is based on landline and cell phone interviews with 914 randomly chosen registered voters nationwide and was conducted under the joint direction of Anderson Robbins Research (D) and Shaw & Company Research (R) from April 3 to April 5. For the total sample, it has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Mike Huckabee is the host of

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Fox News Poll: 24 Percent Believe Obama Not Born in U.S.

are eligible to be president under the U.S. Constitution.

A Fox News poll released Thursday found 24 percent of voters believe President Obama was born somewhere other than the United States.

As one might expect, there are huge partisan differences on this issue. Still, 12 percent of Democrats think the president was born elsewhere, as do 21 percent of independents. That percentage climbs to 37 percent among Republicans. Among those who consider themselves part of the Tea Party movement, 41 percent think the president was born outside the U.S.

Most American voters -- 67 percent -- believe Obama was born in the United States. That includes almost all Democrats (84 percent) and most independents (69 percent). Less than half of Republicans (47 percent) and Tea Partiers (44 percent) think so.

Click here for complete poll results.

Questions about Barack Obama’s birthplace began during the 2008 presidential campaign -- despite birth announcements from newspaper archives and the state of Hawaii releasing birth records. The issue was recently re-ignited by possible Republican presidential candidate and businessman Donald Trump, who on several television talk shows said the president should produce an original

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Fox News Poll: Qaddafi Seen as More Committed than Obama

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By a wide margin, American voters think Libyan leader Muammar al-Qaddafi is more committed to staying in power than President Barack Obama is to ousting him.

In addition, most voters think the Obama administration has failed to explain what the U.S. goals are in Libya, and more voters disapprove (51 percent) than approve (42 percent) of the president’s handling of the situation there.

These are just some of the findings in a Fox News poll released Wednesday.

By a large 31 percentage-point margin, more voters think Qaddafi is determined to staying in power (57 percent) than think Obama is committed to removing him (26 percent).

Most Republicans (71 percent) and independents (65 percent) say Qaddafi is more determined. Even among Democrats, a slightly larger number believe Qaddafi is more committed (43 percent) than think President Obama is (39 percent).

Meanwhile, despite President Obama making a prime-time address to the nation on March 28, most voters -- 61 percent -- say the administration has not explained what the U.S. is trying to achieve in Libya.

That includes not only 79 percent of Republicans, but also nearly half -- 45 percent -- of Democrats. For independents, 64 percent do not think the administration has clearly explained the goal.

Click here for complete poll results.

International military operations, including U.S. forces, began attacking pro-Qaddafi defenses on March 18.

Even as support for U.S. intervention in Libya is up a bit from last month, twice as many voters oppose it. Thirty percent favor the U.S. military getting involved, up from 25 percent three weeks ago (March 14-16).

A 62 percent majority opposes the military involvement, compared to 65 percent previously.

Support for the action among Democrats has increased to 33 percent in the new poll, up from 21 percent in mid-March. Still, a 59 percent majority of Democrats opposes it.

More than three-quarters (77 percent) reject the idea of the U.S. arming Libyan rebels -- something the administration says it is considering.

Some lawmakers are upset the president authorized military action in Libya without consulting Congress. A majority of voters -- 58 percent -- agree that was wrong. Some 37 percent think it was acceptable for the president to move ahead without Congressional input.

Views among Democrats are evenly split: 47 percent say it was okay to take action without Congressional input and 46 percent say it was wrong. Most Republicans -- 74 percent -- think it was wrong for President Obama to authorize action without consulting Congress, as do 54 percent of independents.

Nearly two-thirds of voters (63 percent) view the intervention in Libya as different from what the U.S. did in Iraq, and over half think it’s wrong to describe the action as

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Fox News Poll: Most Would Vote Against Raising Debt Limit

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American voters would rather shut down the government than raise the debt limit, even though most believe a shutdown would have a dramatic effect on everyday Americans.

A Fox News poll released Wednesday asked voters to imagine being a lawmaker in Washington who had to decide whether to increase the debt ceiling. The poll found 62 percent would vote against raising it -- even at the risk of shutting down the government.

About one-in-four voters (26 percent) would raise the limit to allow the government to spend more.

Looking at views by political party, Republicans would overwhelmingly vote against raising the debt ceiling (79 percent). So would a majority of independents (62 percent). Democrats, however, split more evenly: 42 percent would vote to raise the limit and 46 percent would vote against it.

Is shutting down the government a big deal? A 58 percent majority thinks a government shutdown would have a dramatic effect on the lives of everyday Americans, while 34 percent think it’s more of a technical issue that lacks real consequences.

Click here for complete poll results.

Voters’ willingness to close the government while at the same time believing it would have a major effect on everyday Americans may stem from the low regard many voters have for those receiving government benefits. Voters are more likely to think people who receive substantial benefits from the government are mostly

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