Day: June 5, 2015

U.S. Economy Has Added More than 1 Million Jobs Since January

Buck Banks

+1 million

Number of new jobs the U.S. economy has added so far in 2015, according to CNNMoney. In a good sign for people looking for work, the U.S. economy gained 280,000 jobs in May. Economists surveyed by CNNMoney projected there would only be 222,000 jobs gains. The unemployment rate ticked up slightly in May to 5.5%, according to the Labor Department. That increase is a sign that more people returned to look for work in May, economists say.

Most Voters Willing to Pay to Combat Climate Change

Buck Banks

41%

Of likely U.S. voters say they are not willing to pay anything more in higher taxes and utility costs annually to generate cleaner energy and fight global warming, according to a Rasmussen telephone survey. But that’s down from 48% last August and the lowest level measured since January 2013. However, 56% are willing to pay, with 24% willing to spend $100 more per year, unchanged from earlier surveys, and 26% are ready to spend $300 or more a year, with 6% who are willing to spend at least $1,000 more annually.

GOP Conservative Base Is Shrinking

Buck Banks

42%

The percentage of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents who describe themselves as both social and economic conservatives, the lowest level Gallup has measured since 2005. The second-largest group of Republicans (24%) see themselves as moderate or liberal on both social and economic issues, while 20% of all Republicans are moderate or liberal on social issues but conservative on economic ones.

Most Americans are Morally OK with Death Penalty

Buck Banks

60%

Of Americans say the death penalty is morally acceptable, while 34% say it is not. While this measure has remained relatively stable over time, the current 60% is on the lower end of acceptance of the death penalty nationwide since Gallup began measuring it in 2001. When Gallup began asking this question in 2001, 63% said it was morally acceptable, while 27% said it was morally wrong. The biggest wave of support for its acceptability came in 2006, at 71%, while the low mark was in 2012, at 58%.

Cruz Not Gaining Traction with Hispanics

Buck Banks

Sen. Ted Cruz “finds himself in a strange position as he sees himself eclipsed both by Senator Marco Rubio, also a Cuban-American, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a fluent Spanish-speaker married to a Mexican-American, as early favorites among Hispanic Republicans who could play an increasingly influential role in the nomination process. … To Latinos, Cruz often feels more like an afterthought. And while that’s largely attributed to his hard-right stance on immigration reform, prominent Hispanic conservatives offered insight as to why his problems with Latinos run deeper. Rubio, they said, has embraced his ethnic identity in a way that Cruz, who speaks little Spanish, has not or will not.

— Reuters

Bush’s Prez Prospects Dim

Buck Banks

With each passing day, Jeb Bush looks weaker and weaker. While he has a top notch political team and (reportedly) tons of cash, he is dropping, not, rising in the polls. For a party desperate to win back the White House, Bush is looking more and more like a risky bet. … The latest Washington Post/ABC and CNN/ORC polls paint a grim picture of Bush’s general election hopes. In the CNN poll, Bush is the only candidate tested – besides Ted Cruz – that Hillary beats handily. She leads Bush 51 percent to 43 percent.

— Amy Walter, for the Cook Political Report.