The government shutdown, wealth inequality, nuclear weapons, and sports betting: October 31 – November 3, 2025 Economist/YouGov Poll

This week’s Economist/YouGov poll covers…

• The growing share of Americans who’re feeling the government shutdown’s results
• How many Americans need the government to attempt to cut back wealth inequality

(*31*)Whether liberals want capitalism or socialism

• The stage of help for a attainable resumption of nuclear-weapons testing
• Whether Americans suppose professional athletes usually tailor their play to playing outcomes

Government shutdown

• A rising share of Americans say they’re being personally affected by the government shutdown: 36% say they’re being affected an important deal or considerably, in comparison with 21% who stated so roughly a week after the shutdown began

• Americans are about as prone to say that Republicans in Congress are most answerable for the shutdown as they’re to say Democrats in Congress are (35% vs. 32%); 28% say the 2 teams are equally accountable
  • There has been little change in opinion on accountability for the shutdown since two weeks earlier. The share who place probably the most blame on congressional Republicans is down barely, to 35% from 39%

• Trump, Democrats in Congress, and Republicans in Congress all proceed to have web destructive approval amongst Americans for his or her dealing with of the shutdown. Net approval of shutdown dealing with by Trump has fallen in current weeks, as has web approval of Republicans in Congress, to a lesser extent

• How for much longer do Americans anticipate the shutdown to final? 35% say they anticipate it to final one other three weeks or extra and 23% anticipate it can final one other two weeks or much less. Many (42%) say they aren’t certain how lengthy it can final
• Americans are about as prone to say that Democrats in Congress ought to maintain out for modifications to well being care funding — comparable to extending subsidies for Affordable Care Act (ACA) protection — earlier than agreeing to finish the government shutdown as to say they need to not (40% vs. 38%)
• 28% of Americans — together with 33% of Democrats and 24% of Republicans — say somebody of their household presently receives advantages from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), typically referred to as meals stamps
• Three-quarters (74%) of Americans suppose that SNAP advantages ought to proceed to be paid through the shutdown. People who say somebody of their household receives SNAP advantages usually tend to help continued fee of the advantages through the shutdown than are those that don’t (91% vs. 67%)

Wealth inequality

• 84% of Americans — together with majorities of Democrats (96%), Independents (87%), and Republicans (68%) — say the wealthy have an excessive amount of political energy within the U.S.
• A majority (54%) of Americans describe the hole between the wealthy and the poor within the U.S. as a really massive downside and 57% say the federal government ought to pursue insurance policies that cut back this hole

• Two-thirds (69%) of Americans help and 18% oppose elevating the federal minimal wage to $15 per hour. Support for a rise is analogous amongst Americans with decrease and greater household earnings
• What do Americans suppose is primarily answerable for figuring out why some individuals are richer than others? Twice as many say whether or not an individual comes from a privileged background is extra essential than say how arduous an individual works is (39% vs. 20%); 35% say each of those components are equally essential
• 64% of Americans say that billionaires within the U.S. are taxed a lot or considerably too little; 18% say they’re taxed about the correct amount and 7% say the quantity they’re taxed is just too excessive

• Americans are way more prone to view capitalism as a greater financial system than to suppose socialism is (46% vs. 18%).
  • Opinions on which system is healthier differ by political ideology
    • A majority of those that establish as very liberal want socialism (59%)
    • Those who establish as liberal — however not very liberal — are practically evenly divided on which system is healthier
    • Moderates and conservatives strongly want capitalism to socialism

• 52% of Americans anticipate that when youngsters right now within the U.S. develop up, they are going to be worse off financially than their dad and mom; solely 13% suppose they are going to be higher off
• 69% of employed Americans suppose that in the event that they misplaced their job, it might be considerably (45%) or very (25%) arduous for them to discover a new job that paid as a lot as they’re making now; solely 22% suppose it might be not very arduous
• 21% of Americans think the economy is getting better; 54% say it’s getting worse, up from 37% at first of Trump’s second time period

Nuclear weapons

• More Americans say that the U.S. having nuclear weapons makes them really feel safer than say it makes them really feel much less protected (37% vs. 21%); 35% say it makes them really feel neither safer nor much less protected
• Americans usually tend to strongly or considerably oppose than to help the U.S. resuming its testing of nuclear weapons (48% vs. 33%) — a change Trump not too long ago proposed

• More Americans strongly or considerably disapprove than approve of Trump’s dealing with of nuclear weapons (45% vs. 32%). Democrats overwhelmingly disapprove (81% vs. 6%). Republicans overwhelmingly approve (70% vs. 9%)

Sports betting

• 29% of Americans — together with 40% of males and 18% of girls — say they’ve ever guess cash on a sporting occasion

• Nearly half (47%) of Americans suppose that legalized playing is having a destructive affect on sports; solely 7% say its affect is constructive and 30% say it’s neither destructive nor constructive
• People who’ve guess on sports earlier than are much less prone to view the affect of legalized sports betting on sports as destructive than are individuals who have by no means positioned a sports guess (33% vs. 52%), although the individuals who have guess on sports nonetheless usually tend to say legalized betting on sports is destructive than constructive (33% vs. 19%)

• Twice as many Americans imagine that skilled athletes incessantly or typically alter the best way they play to assist sports gamblers win bets than suppose they hardly ever or by no means do that (49% vs. 25%)

— Carl Bialik contributed to this text

Throughout this report, some numbers might seem like off by 1 due to rounding

See the toplines and crosstabs for the October 31 – November 3, 2025 Economist/YouGov Poll

Methodology: The ballot was carried out amongst 1,656 U.S. grownup residents. Respondents had been chosen from YouGov’s decide-in panel to be consultant of U.S. grownup residents. A random pattern (stratified by gender, age, race, schooling, geographic area, and voter registration) was chosen from the 2019 American Community Survey. The pattern was weighted in response to gender, age, race, schooling, geographic area, 2024 presidential vote, 2020 election turnout and presidential vote, baseline get together identification, and present voter registration standing. 2024 presidential vote, at time of weighting, was estimated to be 48% Harris and 50% Trump. Demographic weighting targets come from the 2019 American Community Survey. Baseline get together identification is the respondent’s most up-to-date reply given round November 8, 2024, and is weighted to the estimated distribution at the moment (31% Democratic, 32% Republican). The margin of error for the general pattern is roughly 3.5%.

Image: Getty (Joe Raedle / Staff)

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