Americans split on new tax law, Gallup poll finds

NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller sits down for his weekly conversation with Gallup's Frank Newport to talk about trends in U.S. opinion.

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NewsWorks Tonight host Dave Heller sits down for his weekly conversation with Gallup’s Frank Newport to talk about trends in U.S. opinion.

Looking at trends in political party identification, the big finding is that Americans identifying as politically independent has jumped back up to near historical highs.

Only 56 percent identify as either Republican or Democrat — both near historical lows. Regarding ideology, the continuing big story is an uptick in the percentage of Americans who identify themselves as liberal.

Considering the new tax law, 56 percent of respondents disapproved in early December, and 55 percent disapprove now.

Similarly, approval of Congress stands at 20 percent — just about where it was on average all of last year.

Americans have also become more dissatisfied with the situation of women in the U.S. compared with 10 years ago. Women are more dissatisfied than men, and Democrats are more dissatisfied than Republicans. What’s more, all of the change in satisfaction over 10 years has been driven by changes among Democrats. Republicans are no more dissatisfied with the position of women in the U.S. than they were in 2008.

Listen to the audio above to hear the full conversation.

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