Photo by N. Bower

By Mary Marvin, Mayor of Bronxville

Jan. 10, 2024: Having worked a lifetime ago for a political pollster in DC, I have always been fascinated by the accuracy and benefits of polls. As a result, I couldn’t help myself and over the holidays, I started to read a variety of polls about what we as Americans are thinking as we head into a new year. The following is a compilation, all reputable polls, of what “we” are thinking, feeling and saying as Americans as we look to 2024.

Starting off on the positive, a Pew Research poll finds Americans more optimistic than pessimistic about what their life will look like in 2024 as 37% think life will be better than it was in 2023 and just 13% think it will be worse. Adults under 30 are the most likely to think their life will be better with 57% positive about 2024.

But according to most polls, Americans are ending the year in a sour mood as trust in all public institutions ranging from government to the media, the military and the Supreme Court is near historic lows.

Four out of five Americans also confessed to being worried about the economy with fully 2/3 of respondents telling pollsters that they do not think the country is on the right track.

The idea of the upcoming presidential election seems to depress almost everyone. Based on multiple polls, the country is divided and discontented. Only 18% of us are satisfied with the state of the nation. According to Gallup, 70% think the economy is getting worse and only 36% believe the American dream of, “if you work hard, you’ll get ahead” still holds. Yet Gallup says 67% of us still say we’re extremely proud to be an American.

As far as societal norms, we are now a country more tolerant of weed and we own more firearms as 52% of those polled say they or someone in their household owns a gun, which is up six points from the same survey in 2009.

A record 70% of us want marijuana legalized, up 22 points since 2012.

We are increasingly accepting of same-sex marriages as 71% believe they should be legal, an increase from just 27% in 1996. A record 57% of us admit to being addicted to our cell phones with 60% sleeping with them and 47% feeling legitimate panic if the battery level drops below 15%. The same people polled wish in overwhelming numbers (67%) to return to a time before society was so plugged in.

Not surprisingly, 72% of us have an unfavorable view of Congress with 19% seeing voting as a duty versus 59% in 1944. In contrast, 55% of Americans say they are sick and tired of hearing people attack patriotism, morality, and other traditional American values.

Seven out of 10 Americans rate their satisfaction with US democracy at a five out of 10 or lower contrasting with 38% of those polled in 1977 who felt the same way. Among Republicans, 38% say that they rate a zero out of 10 versus Independents at 20% and Democrats at 10%. Essentially Republicans are nearly 4 times as likely as Democrats to be extremely dissatisfied with how democracy is currently working in the United States.

The top words Americans used to describe each other in 2023 from the list provided were selfish at 48%, spoiled at 40%, and gullible at 38%. By contrast, in 1948 when one had to describe their fellow citizens; 50% categorized them as generous, followed by 35% as confident. Currently just 12% of Americans describe their fellow citizens as generous and only 10% chose confident as a descriptor. Again going back to post war, 9% of those polled used the descriptor intolerant when describing their neighbors versus 34% in 2023.

In a more global context, only one third of Americans think enough is being done to deal with climate change.

AI is a major fear in 2024 with 38% of workers believing the technology may make their job obsolete and 61% think AI poses a serious risk to humanity.

Another World War is a fear for 52% of those polled by Gallup and 53% are afraid Russia will deploy nuclear weapons.

Only 5% of those polled think 2023 will be remembered as one of the best but 46% foresee a better year in 2024 with Democrats the most optimistic, with 61% believing this will be a good year.

To end on a lighter note, citizens of every nationality and political persuasion have united on one issue – we all dislike the tipping screens at fast food restaurants or on orders to go.

At the Village level, I can say 100% of us in government believe 2024 will bring even more improvements to our beautiful Village.