U.S. Risk Brokers  Optimism Among The Nation 

The stock market is continuing to show record highs, and the number of Americans who say that things in the country are going well has now reached 50%.  CNN released a Poll Friday which indicates that an equal 50% say the country is in bad shape. 

To view the CNN/ORC International poll: http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2013/images/04/12/rel4f.pdf

Even though 50% feel our country is not in great shape, Americans have not been this optimistic since the January of 2007, when 57% felt that our country was in good shape.  This number did fall quickly though to 48% by April of that same year.  

If you were to Break down the new 50% number further, senior citizens and rural Americans are those least likely to give a thumbs-up to current conditions. Those between 18 and 34 are the most likely to be optimistic, with 60% things are going well.

The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International.  The poll was ran from April 5-7, with 1,012 adults nationwide questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Cited from: http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/04/12/mood-of-the-nation-six-year-high-in-optimism-cnn-poll-shows/?hpt=hp_t2