Morning Jolt: Why People Are Happier with Their States Than with the Country

WITH JIM GERAGHTY

April 10 2024

Why People Are Happier with Their States Than with the Country

On the menu today: Surveys consistently show that large majorities of Americans think the country is on the wrong track, and only 15 to 34 percent of Americans tell pollsters that the country is headed in the right direction. But when Americans are asked about the direction of their home states, the numbers become much more evenly split — a pattern that I think indicates that lots of Americans just want their elected officials to do their jobs, not to behave like the most outrageous cast member of some low-rated reality show. Meanwhile, the Biden administration wildly overvalues the importance of the student-loan-debt issue, and a non-sarcastic argument that Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor should tell everyone urging her to retire to take a long walk off a short pier.

States Headed in the Right Direction, Country on the Wrong Track

Ask people whether the U.S. is headed in the right direction or on the wrong track, and polling will tell you that a large majority of Americans believe things are going badly — national survey after national survey finds anywhere from 58 percent to 68 percent ...

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