Globalization

Today NDN released the second of two memos outlining findings from a recent national poll focused on the economy and globalization.

Pete Brodnitz of BSG Strategies conducted the poll. He stated:

President Bush’s decision to focus his Presidency on terrorism and Iraq and his decision to limit his economic vision to tax cuts is taking a clear toll on Americans' perceptions of the health of the economy. At a time when many Americans are facing rising health care, education and energy costs, the President offers no compelling economic strategy and fails to even acknowledge the hard economic realities facing American families during his Presidency. As a result, there is an opportunity, and even a demand, for others to fill the vacuum his abdication on economic hardships has caused. The results of our survey and focus group research show that leaders who recognize both the challenges we face in today’s economy and a strategy for growing our economy will be filling a void that is particularly acute on the subject of globalization – a change in our economy that is widely perceived as both a significant concern and as unavoidable. It is also clear that the American electorate is looking for leaders who recognize the need to both soften the impact of globalization and harness Americans’ greatest economic strength - the creativity and freedom of our society – to ensure that ultimately we succeed in the global economy.

NDN President Simon Rosenberg noted:

This poll confirms what the economic data and previous public opinion data have shown for some time - the American people are ready for Washington to once again focus on them and the struggle their families are facing.

By any measure this decade has been a tough one for American families. Despite strong GDP and productivity and stock market gains, household median income has actually declined and wages have been flat. Many more are without health insurance and in poverty and the number of undocumented immigrants continues to rise. Costs of everyday and important things - health care, gas and energy, education - have risen dramatically. In the Bush era it has simply become harder to get ahead.

This poll confirms the central argument of our work at NDN these past several years - the people of the United States are looking for a new economic strategy that makes globalization work for all Americans. We believe offering this strategy is one of the highest political and governing priorities of our time, and based on this new poll, will increasingly come to dominate the presidential debate in the year ahead.

To read the full memo, please visit our website. Also check out the first memo.

Today NDN released the first of two memos outlining findings from a new national poll on the economy and globalization.

The poll was conducted by Pete Brodnitz of Benenson Strategy Group. Brodnitz noted:

Voters are pessimistic about the direction of the country and continue to express a strong desire for change on national security and economic issues. They are frustrated with the performance of the President and Congress and the lack of progress on making health care more affordable, the situation in Iraq, and the precarious state of the economy. They perceive Democrats to be more likely to address these concerns and believe Democrats will stand up and fight for the middle class, leading more voters to support Democratic candidates than Republican candidates for President and Congress.

To read the full memo, please visit our website.

The Times has an interesting piece today that checks in with a program that we are big fans of here at NDN - Nicholas Negroponte's "One Laptop Per Child" effort. 

This international effort to bring low-priced computers to kids in the developing world inspired our recent paper co-authored with One Economy's Alec Ross, "A Laptop in Every Backpack."

You've seen the news articles. This past weekend, we witnessed history as Univision hosted the first-ever Spanish-language Presidential forum. NDN was there and played a vital role, as our argument on the rising influence of the Hispanic electorate helped frame the event. Click on the thumbnails below for larger pictures of the events we held around the forum, as well as two pictures from the forum itself (courtesy of Univision):

For more on NDN's work on issues affecting Hispanic communities, including our efforts to pass comprehensive immigration reform, visit our website.