Vested Interest - Trends - April 1999 Issue

Quantifying Road Rage

The Surface Transportation Policy Project, using federal fatality data, has ranked top metropolitan areas for the number of deaths attributed to what they term “aggressive driving”. Topping the list is Riverside, California, with 13.4 deaths per 100,000 residents. Of Midwestern cities, only Kansas City, Missouri cracked the top 10, ranking 9th, with 7.1 deaths per 100,000 residents. St. Louis ranked 17th, with 5.3 deaths per 100,000, and Chicago came in 23rd, with 4.5 deaths per 100,000 residents. The group said that cities with good public transportation systems tended to rank lower on the list. (Chicago Sun-Times, March 9, 1999)

Better Get a Bigger Millennial Bedside Table

New York University has released their list of the top 100 works of American Journalism of the past century. John Hersey’s Hiroshima topped the list, followed by Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring and Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s investigation of the Watergate break-ins. Others in the top ten include Ida Tarbell’s 1902 report on “The History of the Standard Oil Company”(No. 5), John Reed’s account of the Bolshevik revolution in Russia, Ten Days that Shook the World (No. 7), and H.L. Mencken’s reporting on the Scopes Monkey trial (No. 8). The list includes many reports that were broadcast on radio, and so are now unavailable. (AP, March 2, 1999)

Mixed Views on Immigration

A Gallup Poll of 1,013 adults nationwide measured views on immigration. The poll found a sharp decline in support for a hypothetical proposal to ban immigration, from 50% support in 1996 to 39% support in 1999. Similarly, opposition to the hypothetical grew from 46% to 58%. Still, a plurality (44%) think immigration should be reduced, while 41% want it kept at its present level and 10% want an increase. A strong majority (71%) think immigrants take jobs that American workers don’t want, but a plurality (48%) think immigrants hurt the economy by driving down wages rather than helping by providing low cost labor. (The Polling Report)

Whither the Surplus?

A Zogby poll of 756 likely voters nationwide asked how the federal budget surplus should be spent. A plurality of all respondents (33%) want the money used to bolster social security, followed by “drawing down the debt” (21%), “increase spending” (20%), and a “10% tax cut” (19%). Democrats were most likely to support social security (39%), followed by increased spending (26%), as were Independents, though by a smaller margin (30% and 25%, respectively) Republicans favored drawing down the debt first (29%) followed closely by bolstering social security (28%). (The Polling Report)

I Wonder What the Future Holds

A USA Today and National Science Foundation Poll of 1,021 adults nationwide, conducted by the Gallup Organization, measured attitudes toward the so-called Millennium Bug, or Y2K problem. The share of respondents predicting major problems fell from 34% in December to 21% in March, while those expecting minor problems grew from 51% to 65%. Asked if they would do specific things in anticipation, answers were largely unchanged. About two thirds of respondents will obtain special confirmation of bank account balances (65% in December, 66% in March), and one in seven will close their bank accounts (16% in December, 15% in March). About half will avoid air travel around January 1 (47% in December, 54% in March). (The Polling Report)