>> MOST IMPORTANT PROBLEM MASTER CODE * indicates new or amended code in 2000 ** indicates "other" codes SOCIAL WELFARE PROBLEMS 001. General reference to domestic issues; repairing/ maintaining the nation's infrastructure (roads, bridges, dams, etc) 005. POPULATION; any mention of population increase; reference to over-population/birth control 006. DAY CARE; child care 010. UNEMPLOYMENT; the number of people with jobs; unemployment rate/compensation; job retraining 013. CREATE JOBS/RECRUIT INDUSTRY in specific area/region/ state 020. EDUCATION; financial assistance for schools/colleges/ students; quality of education/the learning environment/teaching 030. AGED/ELDERLY; social security benefits; administration of social security; medical care for the aged; medicare benefits; insuring against catastrophic illness; prescription drug program for elderly 035. Social Security won't be around in the future; paying into a system which won't benefit me/them 040. HEALTH PROBLEMS/COST OF MEDICAL CARE; quality of medical care; medical research/training of doctors and other health personnel; hospitals; National Health insurance program 045. Located after 330 046. Located after 383 048. Other specific references to health problems; AIDS 050. HOUSING; providing housing for the poor/homeless; ability of young people to afford to buy homes/find homes to buy 060. POVERTY; aid to the poor/underprivileged people; help for the (truly) needy; welfare programs (such as ADC); general reference to anti-poverty programs; hunger/help for hungry people in the U.S. 090. SOCIAL WELFARE PROBLEMS; "welfare"--NFS 091. For general or other social welfare programs; "we need to help people more" 092. Against general or other social welfare programs; "too many give away programs for the people who don't deserve it"; for welfare reform ** 099. Other specific mentions of social welfare problems AGRICULTURE 100. FARM ECONOMICS; payment for crops/price of feed/cost of farming 103. SUBSIDIES/crop payments/government aid to farmers 120. WORLD FOOD PROBLEMS; food shortages/starvation/famine (not 406 or 407) NATURAL RESOURCES 150. CONSERVATION OF NATURAL RESOURCES; conservation, ecology; protecting the environment/endangered species 151. Controlling/REGULATING GROWTH or land development; banning further growth/development in crowded or ecologically sensitive areas; preserving natural areas 153. POLLUTION; clean air/water 154. Disposal of RADIOACTIVE/TOXIC waste (dumps, landfills) 160. DEVELOPMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES /ENERGY SOURCES; harbors, dams, canals, irrigation, flood control, navigation, reclamation; location, mining, stock-piling of minerals; water power, atomic power; development of alternative sources of energy (includes mentions of solar or nuclear power) ** 199. Other specific mentions of agriculture or natural resources problems LABOR PROBLEMS: UNION-MANAGEMENT RELATIONS 200. LABOR/UNION PROBLEMS; union practices; job security provided workers; job safety issues; working conditions 220. Anti-union; unions too powerful ** 299. Other specific mention of labor or union-management problems RACIAL PROBLEMS 300. CIVIL RIGHTS/RACIAL PROBLEMS; programs to enable Blacks to gain social/economic/educational/political equality; relations between Blacks and whites 302. PROTECTION (expansion) OF WHITE MAJORITY; maintenance of segregation; right to choose own neighborhood; right to discriminate in employment 304. Discrimination against whites; preferred treatment given to minorities TECHNOLOGY 310. Technology; mentions that are specific to technology; e.g., the Year 2000 computer (Y2K) problem PUBLIC ORDER PROBLEMS 320. NARCOTICS; availability of drugs; extent of drug/alcohol addiction in the U.S.; interdiction of drugs coming to the U.S. from foreign countries; alcohol or drug related crime; drug laws 330. WOMEN'S RIGHTS; references to women's issues; economic equality for women; ERA 045. PRO-ABORTION; pro-choice; the right of a woman to control her body 340. CRIME/VIOLENCE; too much crime; streets aren't safe; mugging, murder, shoplifting; drug related crime 360. LAW AND ORDER; respect for the law/police; support for the police; death penalty; tougher sentences for criminals; need for more prisons 361. Legal reform--general (for mentions regarding specific issues, see specific issue); see also Adhering to the Constitution (code 850) * 363. Police brutality; police not doing their job properly 367. Against unregistered ownership of guns; legislative control of guns; "CONTROL OF GUNS"-NFS 368. For gun ownership; right to have guns; against gun control 370. EXTREMIST GROUPS/TERRORISTS; terrorist bombings/hostage-taking; political subversives; revolutionary ideas/approaches 375. Euthenasia; right to die 380. General mention of MORAL/RELIGIOUS DECAY (of nation); sex, bad language, adult themes on TV 381. Family problems--divorce; proper treatment of children; decay of family (except 006); child/elder abuse (incl. sexual); family values 046. ANTI-ABORTION; pro-life; "abortion"--NFS 383. Problems of/with YOUNG PEOPLE; drug/alcohol abuse amoung young people; sexual attitudes; lack of values/ discipline; mixed-up thinking; lack of goals/ambition/sense of responsibility 384. Religion (too) mixed up in politics; prayer in school 385. HOMOSEXUALITY; protecting civil rights of gays and lesbians; accepting the lifestyle of homosexuals; granting homosexual couples the same rights and benefits as heterosexual couples ** 399. Other specific mention of racial or public order problems; other mention of domestic issues ECONOMIC AND BUSINESS PROBLEMS If R mentions both "inflation" (400) and rise in prices of specific items (407-409), code "Inflation" (400). (See also 496.) 400. INFLATION; rate of inflation; level of prices; cost of living 401. WAGE AND PRICE CONTROLS/GUIDELINES; freezing prices; control of business profits 403. High price of food, all mentions (exc. 100) 404. High price of other specific items and services 405. MINIMUM WAGE, any mention; any mention of wage levels 407. Food shortages; economic aspects of food shortages, e.g., price of sugar (other references, code 120) 408. Fuel shortages; "energy crisis"; oil companies making excessive profits; depressed condition of the oil industry 410. RECESSION, DEPRESSION; prosperity of the nation; economic growth; GNP 411. MONETARY RESTRAINTS/CONTROLS; level of interest rates; availability of money/the money supply 413. Future vision of what America will be like; a need to look to the future 415. Against (increased) government spending; balancing of the (national) budget; against government stimulation of the economy; the size of the budget deficit 416. TAXES; general reference to tax structure; tax surcharge (NA R's direction); tax reform; other specific tax reference 417. For tax cuts; against tax surcharge; for tax reform 418. Against tax cuts; for tax surcharge; against tax reform 424. PRODUCTIVITY of American industry; "giving a day's work for a day's pay"; revitalizing American industry 425. STOCK MARKET/GOLD PRICES; all references to gold prices, stock brokers, stock fluctuations, etc. 427. VALUE OF THE DOLLAR; strength/weakness of the dollar against other currencies 433. Large businesses taking over small businesses 440. Class oriented economic concerns--middle class, working class (pro); MIDDLE CLASS GETTING SQUEEZED 441. Class oriented economic concerns--big business, monied interests (anti) too powerful 442. Concern for inequitable distribution of wealth; gap between the rich and the poor; concentration of wealth in the hands of a few 451. For the regulation of interstate commerce, transportation, air travel, railways, government auto safety regulations; in favor of increased government regulation of business; mention of problems caused by deregulation 452. Against (increased) regulation of interstate commerce, transportation; AIR TRAVEL, RAILWAYS, etc. 453. Solvency/stability/regulation/control of the nation's FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS. [1990] Savings and Loan scandal * 460. IMMIGRATION POLICY; establishing limits on how many people from any one nation can enter the U.S.; prohibiting specified types of persons from entering the U.S. (All mentions of Elian Gonzales or "the Cuban child" go here. If power of Federal government mentioned, see codes 801 and 887.) 463. Problems relating to the influx of political/economic refugees (Cubans, Haitians, Mexicans, etc.) 491. Economics--general; "Economics"--NFS 492. International economics--general; economic problems in specific countries or regions 493. U.S. foreign trade, balance of payments position; foreign oil dependency 494. Control of FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN U.S.; mention of foreigners buying U.S. assets (businesses, real estate, stocks, etc) 495. PROTECTION OF U.S. INDUSTRIES; imposition of tariffs/reciprocal restrictions on foreign imports; limitation of foreign imports; mention of problems in specific industries competin with foreign manufacturers 496. The economy--not further specified (code specific mention if R clarifies by saying "inflation", etc.; also see 400) 497. International competitiveness; outsourcing; loss of jobs to foreign competition; moving jobs abroad; modernizing plants/equipment/management techniques to meet foreign competition; matching the quality of foreign goods 498. Mention of "twin problems" of a large national debt/ budget deficit and unfavorable balance of trade/import-export ratio ** 499. Other specific mention economic or business problems FOREIGN AFFAIRS 500. FOREIGN RELATIONS/FOREIGN AFFAIRS; foreign policy/relations, prestige abroad 504. Relations with the Third World (no specific country or region mentioned) 505. Relations with WESTERN EUROPE; Great Britain, France, Germany; our allies 510. VIETNAM; general reference to "the war," Indochina, Cambodia; aid 514. Latin America, South America--any references; reference to war/situation in Nicaragua; U.S. support of the Contras 515. Iran; mention of American hostages in Teheran; arms deal 516. African countries; developing areas in Africa (not 518) --any mention; U.S. response to apartheid in South Africa 519. Other specific countries/areas/trouble spots (exc. 520's, 530's) 524. MIDDLE EAST-- support or aid to Israel/Arab states; Arab/Israeli conflict; Iran-Iraq war; hostages in Lebanon/Middle East. [1990] Iraqi aggression in the Persian Gulf ; Saddam Hussein 530. RUSSIA/Eastern Europe; relations with Russia/the Communist bloc; detente/trade/negotiations with Russia-- NA whether 531 or 532 531. For PEACEFUL RELATIONS with Russia/Detente/Eastern Europe; for increased TRADE with Russia; talking/ resuming negotiations with Russia on arms control/ reduction (reaching/concluding a treaty is 711) 532. Against policy of Detente with Russia; COLD WAR; threat of external Communism; need to oppose/be wary of Russia 533. Prevention of Russian (Communist) expansion; mention of Soviet invasion and occupation of Afghanistan-- any reference; references to Soviet activity in Central America/Nicaragua) * 535. US/NATO involvement in the Balkans; US/NATO led air war to contain Serbia 539. Other specific references to Russia/Detente/Eastern Europe, etc. (including changing site/boycotting 1980 Moscow Olympics); threat of/preventing war with Russia (exc. 714) 540. FIRMNESS IN FOREIGN POLICY; maintenance of position of MILITARY/DIPLOMATIC STRENGTH (not 710-712) 550. U.S. FOREIGN (MILITARY) INVOLVEMENT/COMMITMENT, extent of U.S. Foreign involvement; military assistance/aid (exc. 524) 560. U.S. FOREIGN (ECONOMIC) INVOLVEMENT/COMMITMENTS; extent of U.S.(foreign) economic aid; "foreign aid" 570. Prevention of war; ESTABLISHMENT OF PEACE; any reference 585. Obligation to TAKE CARE OF PROBLEMS AT HOME before helping foreign countries ** 599. Other specific mention of foreign affairs problems NATIONAL DEFENSE 700. NATIONAL DEFENSE; defense budget; level of spending on defense 710. DISARMAMENT; general reference to ENDING OF THE ARMS RACE; nuclear proliferation; test ban treaty (not 540); SALT; INF treaty 711. For DISARMAMENT; for extension of test ban treaty; support toward ending of arms race; against (additional) expenditures on military/arms development; SALT; SDI ("Star Wars"); INF treaty 712. Against (increased) policy of DISARMAMENT; against test ban treaty; for additional WEAPONS DEVELOPMENT; missile program; scientific/technological development in weapons/strategy; atomic bomb testing; increased DEFENSE BUDGET, increased arms expenditure (not 540); SALT; increased pay for military personnel; SDI ("Star Wars"); INF treaty 713. General or specific references to functioning and performance of defense; waste, inefficiency (not codable in 710-712) 714. Nuclear war; the threat of nuclear war; nuclear proliferation * 715. Security of nuclear secrets; Dept of Energy/Los Alamos nuclear security; Wen Ho Lee or Energy Secretary Richard compromising security; supposed Chinese spying 740. The space program; space race (not 711,712) 750. MORALE OF NATION; Patriotism; National spirit; national unity; greed, selfishness of people 760. BENEFITS FOR VETERANS; general reference 765. Allowing/accepting GAYS IN THE MILITARY ** 799. Other specific mention of national defense problems ISSUES RELATING TO THE FUNCTIONING OF GOVERNMENT 800. POWER OF THE (FEDERAL) GOVERNMENT; power of/control exercised by the federal government 810. (LACK OF) HONESTY IN GOVERNMENT; (LACK OF) ETHICS IN GOVERNMENT--general reference (exc. 811) 811. LACK OF PERSONAL ETHICS/morality of persons related to or part of government 812. The President lied/didn't tell the truth; covered up personal involvement with a young woman (also see more general code 874) 813. The President has low morals; had affair with a young woman (also see more general code 874) 820. CAMPAIGN DONATIONS/PUBLIC FINANCING OF ELECTIONS; any mentions; campaign finance reform 830. CONFIDENCE/TRUST in political leaders/system; wisdom, ability, responsiveness of political leaders; quality of leadership provided by political leaders 833. QUALITY/EFFICIENCY of public employees, diplomats, civil service; SIZE OF THE GOVERNMENT BUREAUCRACY; COST OF GOVERNMENT 836. COMPENSATION; all references to the compensation of government employees, officials, congressmen, judges, local politicians/bureaucrats 837. Waste in government spending; keeping tabs on where money goes 838. Government BUDGET PRIORITIES are wrong; Congress/President is spending money in the wrong areas/not spending money on the right things 840. SIZE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT; the (large) size of government/civil service/bureaucracy; the number of government departments/employees/programs 850. Adhering to the Consitution (see also legal reform, code 361) 853. POWER OF CONGRESS--general reference 856. POWER OF THE SUPREME COURT, all other references to the Supreme Court except 857, 858 859. Other specific references to the (federal) balance of power; legislative gridlock in Washington 862. FAIR ELECTION PROCEDURES; prevention of vote manipulation; curbing of political "bosses", smear campaigns 869. Other specific references to problems of representation; term limitations for members of Congress 874. Lack of support for the President; any anti-President comments, negative reference to the PRESIDENT's quality, style, etc. (also see codes 812, 813) 875. Impeachment proceeding; mention of the Special Prosecutor; Republicans attempting to get the President out of office/Democrats attempting to keep the President in office (also see codes 812, 813) 878. Mention of a specific CANDIDATE or relative of a candidate -- NFS 881. New president/administration getting started; other references specific to the President; support for the President; "let him get on with his job" 885. PUBLIC APATHY/disinterest--all references 886. References to unfair/undeserved/excessive criticism by the media. All media mentions should go here: "The news can't be trusted" 887. Extending/protecting EQUAL RIGHTS, basic freedoms, human rights of all citizens ** 899. Other specific mention of problems relating to the functioning of government NON-POLITICAL PROBLEMS 995. "There were no issues"; "there were no issues, just party politics" 996. "There was no campaign in my district" ** 997. Other specific mentions of important problems 998. DK 999. NA 000. Inap, no further mention; no problems