September 2007 No. 38Table of Contents |
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Nearly half (49%) of Midwesterners think they’re better off today than five years ago, and while they are more satisfied than in the East (42%), their outlook is way under that of Americans in the West (62%) and the South (60%), says a new Harris Poll.
The younger you are, the more likely you think your life situation is better today than yesterday—it’s 71% of Gen Xers (age 31-42), 66% of Echo Boomers (18-30), 53% of Baby Boomers (43-61), and 27% for Matures (62+) who see their prospects on a downward spin. In fact, only 23% of Matures see their future improving in 5 years, compared to Echo Boomers (85%), Gen Xers (82%), and Baby Boomers (58%).
Customer service. Harris also found several industries that have greatly improved their reputations with Americans over the past 10 years—car manufactures, online search engines, and hospitals—and there are several companies that Americans think are worse now at serving their consumers—life insurance, tobacco, health insurance, managed care/HMOs, telephone, and Internet service providers.
The portion of Americans who are satisfied with our treatment of all immigrants in general has dipped below half (43%). Since 2001, it hovered in the mid-50s percentage until last summer. In contrast, when asked about various sub-groups in the USA population, we think treatment of Asians (72%), women (69%), blacks (63%), Hispanics (56%), and Arabs (52%) is satisfactory, reports the Gallup Poll. Whites tend to have higher opinions of how these sub-groups are treated than do Blacks and Hispanics themselves. The survey did not test whether satisfaction was based on perceptions that the sub-group was treated “too well” or “too poorly.”
The numbers of Hispanics in Indiana has grown faster than the overall population since 2000. They now account for 10.2% of Hoosiers compared to 7.6% at the beginning of the century. Across the USA, whites are the minority in 10% of our counties—300 in total, according to new U.S. Census estimates.
IN’s Eli Lilly & Co. and WellPoint were named winners of the 2007 Best Companies for Blacks in Technology by WorkplaceDiversity.com and Black Data Processing. They were among the top 10 companies chosen especially for their diversity recruiting programs. Other recipients were Allstate Insurance, IBM, Lockheed Martin, Compuware, Health Care Service Corp, HSBC North America, and Wal-Mart Stores.
Robert Putnam is at it again. In Bowling Alone he said Americans were doing less and less together, a threat to community life. He got his idea from studying Italy. Now he’s looked at Scandinavia and concludes in E Pluribus Unum that the more diversity there is, the less likely you’ll find “healthy” civic life. People in diverse communities tend to “distrust their neighbors, regardless of the color of their skin, to withdraw even from close friends, to expect the worst from their community and its leaders, to volunteer less, give less to charity and work on community projects less often, to register to vote less, to agitate for social reform more but have less faith that they can actually make a difference, and to huddle unhappily in front of the television.” These biases may heighten debates about immigration and race-based admissions to colleges.
Putnam worries that his findings are already being used as proof that large-scale immigration causes harm to the nation’s social fabric. He argues that the negative effects of diversity can be remedied with targeted efforts. He also believes that American diversity will only increase and become ultimately valuable and enriching. Need America become like northern Europe? United Ways can help make sure it won’t!
Health professionals get top marks for their honesty and ethics, according to a recent Gallup poll. Where do you think United Ways and their leaders fit?
| Profession | Average |
Very high/High |
Very low/ Low |
| Nurses | 84% |
14% |
2% |
| Pharmacists | 73% |
23% |
4% |
| Veterinarians | 71% |
23% |
2% |
| Medical doctors | 69% |
26% |
6% |
| Dentists | 62% |
34% |
4% |
| Engineers | 61% |
33% |
3% |
| College teachers | 58% |
32% |
7% |
| Clergy | 58% |
29% |
9% |
| Policemen | 54% |
34% |
11% |
| Psychiatrists | 38% |
42% |
12% |
| Bankers | 37% |
52% |
10% |
| Chiropractors | 36% |
48% |
10% |
| Journalists | 26% |
48% |
25% |
| State Governors | 22% |
52% |
26% |
| Business executives | 18% |
53% |
27% |
| Lawyers | 18% |
42% |
38% |
| Stockbrokers | 17% |
56% |
23% |
| Senators | 15% |
49% |
35% |
| Congress members | 14% |
45% |
40% |
| Insurance salesmen | 13% |
51% |
34% |
| HMO managers | 12% |
45% |
37% |
| Advertising staff | 11% |
49% |
35% |
| Car salesmen | 7% |
36% |
55% |
Ratings for pharmacists rose from 2005, and those for police declined. Democrats are more positive than Republicans about college teachers, psychiatrists, journalists, lawyers, and Senators. Republicans have more favorable views of clergy and policemen.
Ethical decisions are sometimes hard to make for every profession, a process of weighing alternatives and consequences. Once you’ve assessed the moral issue in question, determined whose dilemma it is, and gathered the facts, you’ve got at least 5 ways of analyzing your options, according to the Center for Ethics director at the National Conference of State Legislators:
Congress continually debates rules on gifts to themselves, activities of lobbyists, and who pays for their travel to what kind of event or “learning” experience.
Akin to the question of ethics, Gallup also regularly asks Americans their opinions about the impacts of big government, big business, and big labor on the future of the nation. In January, 61% said big government poses the biggest threat in the future, followed by big business (25%), and big labor (9%). These ratios haven’t changed much in the past 5 years. Both conservatives (65%) and moderates (59%) name big government as the biggest threat, with liberals divided between big government (49%) and big business (43%). In the 1960s, big labor worried Americans more than big business, but that began to change in the 1980s.
Learn from experts how to deal with identity theft, home repair fraud, phone investment cons, and more. AARP-Indiana will hold 8:30AM to 12:30PM “Scam Jam” events the following days and places:
For more, call 888-687-2277 or see www.aarp.org/in.
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