What do American families really care about right now?
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What issues matter most to American families right now?
Hello, everyone. I'm Kimberly Adams. Welcome back to Make Me Smart, where none of us is as smart as all of us. You might think, or maybe hope, it's too early to start thinking about this year's midterm elections. But for the folks trying to shape the outcome of those elections, like the policy wonks here in D.C., I can assure you it is not. We are well into it. Last week, I led a panel discussion at an Aspen Institute event in my neck of the woods, and it was all about what issues matter most to American families right now. The conversation revealed a lot about how voters are feeling about the economy and our government heading into this election season. So we're going to share some of that today. This particular panel was made up of folks who work in the world of polling and political strategy on both sides of the aisle.
Nat Kendall-Taylor, who's the CEO of the Frameworks Institute, a communications research organization. Celinda Lake, president of Lake Research Partners, which is a progressive-leaning political research and strategy firm.
How is economic anxiety affecting voter perceptions?
And Brian Nienaber, who's the vice president of the Terrence Group, a Republican research and strategy firm. All right, let's get into the conversation. I want to start off because all y'all work in sort of polling and data. And often when we're talking about children and families, we're thinking social workers, teachers, and people who are often on the front lines working with families. I would love for you all to talk about why it's important to be chatting about the data when we're talking about ways to actually serve children and families. Brian, why don't you go first?
Oh, sure. Thanks, Kimberly, and thank you everyone for having me. I appreciate it very much. I think the biggest thing I can take away from data is the thing I've seen over and over again in the surveys we've done this year is there's a real high level of economic anxiety among voters that people are worried about inflation, cost of living. And so that then becomes this anxiety that sort of is the lens that they see everything else through. And so when you come to them, you can have a wonderful public policy idea that's going to serve people well and have wonderful outcomes. But if someone perceives, well, this is going to raise my rent or raise my property taxes or I'm going to be out more money and this is going to get me even closer to maybe missing my rent or mortgage payment or having one of my utility bills slide, you're going to have a much harder time making a sale with that person.
So, Linda, can you talk about the work that you do and how this shows up there?
Sure.
What role does data play in understanding family needs?
And thank you, Kimberly, so much for having me and the whole group. First of all, what I would say is our problem is not opposition. Our problem is cynicism. Voters really wonder and doubt if anything is going to happen and if these policies in particular are going to happen. And I remember work that we did 15 years ago with the Children's Hospital where the slogan was, who's for kids and who's just kidding? And that's kind of the attitude that the voters have. Voters are cynical in three different ways. They wonder if anything will happen. The country is so divided, so polarized. Women tend to believe this less. Women tend to think any three women in America can agree on more than Congress does. But in general, people wonder we're so polarized, can we get it done?
People wonder, are there really solutions? And they're very frustrated by the idea that every time we implement a solution, we get more problems than we get solutions. And people wonder, will the elected officials really act on my behalf? Are they going to act on the behalf of the people who make political contributions to their campaigns or the people that are in the back rooms in Washington or their state capitals? Parents are a real key audience and I think mobilizing parents as parents is very, very powerful to voters. And then the other voice that really can help overcome cynicism is small business.
Why do voters feel skeptical about government policies?
America's absolutely in love with small business.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What issues matter most to American families right now?
0:06–1:05
2
How is economic anxiety affecting voter perceptions?
1:05–2:31
3
What role does data play in understanding family needs?
2:31–4:02
4
Why do voters feel skeptical about government policies?
4:02–7:18
5
How do different mindsets influence views on policy?
7:18–9:36
6
What are the bipartisan issues that resonate with voters?
9:36–12:00
7
How do local solutions impact voter confidence?
12:00–14:00
8
What challenges hinder translating campaign promises into policies?
14:00–16:45