Americans most discontented with economy, government: Gallup

Dissatisfaction with the government and worries about the economy rank highest on a list of top concerns for Americans, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.

The poll comes amid an election season when Americans are fed up with Washington mostly over the sluggish U.S. economy. People also feel that the country is heading in the wrong direction.

According to the poll, 17 percent of respondents rank the economy as their top concern and 15 percent are dissatisfied with the government, among other issues such as immigration, healthcare, race relations, terrorism, the election and the federal budget deficit.

Only 5 percent chose the U.S. presidential election, the highest since Gallup began tracking the category in 2001, though low in an absolute sense. The previous high was 2 percent on several occasions, usually right after an election took place.

Many of the responses mentioned Republican front-runner Donald Trump and his impact on the election. Those who list the election as the most important problem are primarily Independents and Democrats, Gallup said.

Gallup found the greatest party differences concern the economy.

Twenty-eight percent of Republicans say the economy is the most important problem, up from 16 percent in February and 8 percent in December. By contrast, only 16 percent of independents and 12 percent of Democrats name the issue as the most urgent, which is consistent with the past six months.

Republicans' heightened concern about the economy could reflect their agreement with the rhetoric by Republican presidential candidates about the economic problems confronting the country, according to Gallup.

The poll also found that 27 percent of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country. Specifically, 44 percent of Democrats, 25 percent of independents, and only 10 percent of Republicans hold that opinion, Gallup said.

The current satisfaction level among all Americans is in line with what Gallup has measured in the past four years, but significantly below the historical average of 37 percent, Gallup found.

Below-average satisfaction at the time of an election is often a sign of trouble for the incumbent presidential party's ability to win. However, President Barack Obama won re-election in 2012 when satisfaction was only slightly better -- 33 percent -- than it is now, Gallup said. Endi