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New poll shows economic confidence at 4-year low
Economist Dr. Mike Walden joins LiveNOW's Austin Westfall to discuss Kevin Warsh being sworn in as chairman of the Federal Reserve and a new Gallup poll that shows confidence in the economy is at a 4-year low.
WASHINGTON - A new survey reveals that Americans’ views on the overall state of moral values in the U.S. have worsened over the past year, with negative assessments of current conditions and the direction that values are headed both rising sharply.
Gallup surveyed more than 1,000 adults earlier this month living in all 50 U.S. states.
Record-high of Americans rate moral values in US as ‘poor’
By the numbers:
Since Gallup began tracking these measures in 2002, Americans have been more negative than positive in their views of the nation's moral values.
However, according to the poll, a record-high 56% of Americans rated moral values in the U.S. as "poor" this year, up 12 percentage points from last year.
In addition, 80% of respondents said moral values are "getting worse," up 14 points. Just 3% currently said Americans’ moral values are "excellent," 9% "good" and 30% "only fair."
Republicans and Democrats broadly agree
Dig deeper:
The survey found that Republicans, Democrats and Independents broadly agreed that the country's moral values are in poor shape and that government policies have a significant effect on them.
This marks the first time in Gallup's trend that majorities of all three groups concurrently rated moral values as poor.
Democrats' rating was up 11 points to 59%, independents' was up 12 points to 56%, and Republicans' was up 17 points to 54%.
A record-high 56% of Americans rated moral values in the U.S. as "poor" this year, up 12 percentage points from last year. (Credit: Getty Images)
In addition, 80% of Americans said moral values are "getting worse"; just 15% said values are "getting better." More Democrats than Republicans said moral values are getting worse.
In most years since 2006, Republicans have been more likely than Democrats to rate the country's moral values as poor. The gap was widest in 2024, when 73% of Republicans and 28% of Democrats held that view, a difference of 45 points. The pattern flipped last year following President Donald Trump’s return to office, with Democrats outpacing Republicans by 11 points.
What they're saying:
"Americans' negative views of the country's moral values show no signs of softening," Gallu wrote. "However, that shared gloom does not translate into agreement about solutions. Republicans and Democrats remain far apart on what they think the government's role in promoting moral values should be, even as majorities of both party groups say policies have a significant effect on them."
Public divided on what government’s role should be
Big picture view:
This is the third time Gallup has measured Americans’ perceptions of whether government policies have a significant effect on moral values and whether the government should be involved in promoting values. The two prior readings were in 1996 and 2006.
RELATED: American confidence in economy drops to four-year low, poll finds
The survey found that 69% of U.S. adults believed government policies have a significant effect on people’s moral values – an increase of about 10 points in the percentage believing government policies can affect moral values compared with 20 and 30 years ago.
Yet, the public is divided over what the government’s role should be, with 50% saying the government should not be involved in promoting moral values and 45% saying it should.
The Source: The information for this story was provided by Gallup’s poll conducted May 1-17, 2026. This story was reported from Los Angeles.