harry hope

From CBS News, 8/13/03:
http://cbsnews.cbs.com/stories/2003/08/13/opinion/polls/main568080.shtml

Views On Economy Worsen

NEW YORK, Aug. 13, 2003

(CBS)

Americans are getting more pessimistic about the economy -- 60 percent
say it's bad, the highest number recorded in a CBS News poll in ten
years -- and a majority disapproves of the way President Bush is
handling it.

With public confidence in the economy falling and the job market
stagnant, the president called his economic team down to Texas on
Wednesday to show the world he's on the case.

But few Americans see signs of a recovery, and most think the Bush
administration’s tax cuts -- the centerpiece of his economic and jobs
program -- will not do much to improve either the stock market or the
job market.

THE ECONOMY

The economy remains in first place as the most important problem
facing this country, as it has for the past few months.

Nearly four in ten volunteer it.

The public is pessimistic about the economy, and has become more so
recently.

60% think the economy is in bad shape -- the most negative assessment
seen in this poll in ten years.

Just a few months ago, opinion was more evenly divided.

And this represents a marked deterioration since January 2001, when
Bush first took office; then, 84% thought the economy was in good
shape.

The last time ratings of the economy were more negative than they are
now was in September 1993; then, 67% thought the economy was bad, and
just 32% thought it was good.

In June 1991, at roughly the same point in the presidency of the
current president’s father, negative evaluations of the economy were
similar.

Then, 42% thought the economy was good, and 57% thought it was bad.

But views continued to decline over the next few months; by October,
65% thought the economy was in bad condition.

55% of Americans think the economy has deteriorated in just the past
two years, and there is particular alarm over the job market.

Two thirds think the job market has gotten worse since then.

In addition, 44% are concerned that they or someone in their household
will lose their job in the next year.

At the same time, most Americans seem personally to be treading water
financially; 65% say their finances are about the same or better than
they were two years ago.

But a third are worse off now.

Few see much prospect for improvement.

Just under one in four Americans think an economic recovery is
currently underway, but slightly more -- 27% -- think the economy is
getting worse.

49% think it is staying the same.

Republicans are more optimistic than Democrats about the economy, but
only 37% of them think it is getting better.

Those with higher incomes and men are more likely to think it is
getting better as well.

Many think declines in the economy and the job market have occurred
under the Bush Administration’s watch, and the President receives poor
ratings in this area.

In this poll, 36% approve and 52% disapprove of his handling of the
economy -- his most negative evaluations in this area since he took
office.

Due in part to the positive assessments of his handling of Iraq,
Bush’s overall job approval rating is more positive; 55% approve and
35% disapprove.

Overall, Bush receives only a modi*** of blame for current economic
conditions.

Most think Bush’s policies have had an impact on the economy, but
believe that impact has been small.

48% believe the Administration’s policies have had a little impact,
and 37% think those policies have had a lot of impact.

But perhaps as a result of the tax cuts that have been implemented,
the Bush Administration’s policies are seen as having a greater effect
on the economy now than the public thought in January 2002.

However, that obscures an important finding from this poll;

Bush receives more blame than credit for the current economy when the
questions are asked separately to people who hold different views
about the direction of the economy.

Among those who think the economy is on the upswing, 37% give him lot
of credit for its recovery.

But among those who think the economy is getting worse, 56% place a
lot of blame on Bush and his policies.

Part of the problem may be that most of the public thinks Bush’s
attention is not focused enough on the problem.

25% think the president is paying enough attention to the economy,
while nearly three times as many -- 70% -- think he is not.

That complaint -- that the president is not paying enough attention to
the economy -- has become more widespread over the past few months.

In May, 61% felt Bush was not paying enough attention to the economy.

About half of Republicans think the President needs to spend more time
on the economy; 48% think he is paying enough attention to the
economy, but 47% think he should be paying more attention.

Among Democrats, 88% think he is not paying enough attention to the
economy.

And most Americans think the president has made little progress
creating new jobs.

55% think he has made not much or no progress in this area, and 39%
think he has made at least some.

There is some skepticism about the president’s plan for economic
recovery as well.

The centerpiece of Bush’s economic and jobs program is tax cuts, but
Americans think it is unlikely that the Bush tax cuts will lead to
more jobs.

Only 38% think it likely the new tax cuts will create more jobs, while
most -- 55% -- think that is not likely to happen.

Views on this have become more negative since last May.

The public expects tax cuts to do even less for the stock market --
only 22% expect the tax cuts will improve the stock market.

9% expect they will be detrimental to the markets, while 49% think
they will have no effect.

Investors are slightly more optimistic about the impact of Bush’s tax
cut program on the stock market; 26% think the tax reductions will be
good for the market, but 54% think they will have no effect.

THE STOCK MARKET

The stock market is considered an important factor in the nation’s
economic health; 62% think it has a major impact, and another 27%
think it has a minor effect.

While few (6%) would say the stock market is very good right now, 43%
think it is in fairly good shape.

Americans are hesitantly optimistic about its short-term outlook; 32%
think the market will not change in the next three months, and 41%
think it will rise moderately.

Only 1% expects big gains.

Investors’ views are somewhat more bullish; 51% expect a moderate rise
in the market.

This poll was conducted among a nationwide random sample of 798 adults
interviewed by telephone August 11-12, 2003.

The error due to sampling could be plus or minus four percentage
points for results based on the entire sample.

__________________________________________________ __________

Harry

cognitus44

I suspect really he called them down to help him clear brush...

hogans goat

Here's a cheerful little earful from Chris the Liberal:


If so, they're the only ones in the whole state of Texas stupid enough to
do that in August - and Texas is filled with morons!

Flightsuit-In-Chief has less than a year to turn the economy around, or
else he will join the ranks of the unemployed, just like 3 million
Americans did.

BTW, Saddam Hussein isn't dead, he's just unemployed too.

Hogan out.

--
"Politics is the entertainment branch of industry" - Frank Zappa.

joettab

True, but I had a job, which was more than I could say during the reign of
Bush Daddy.

JoettaB

--Ability is not determined by four walls.


news:<js7njvkgkmoi5vl97gvf8lc5ul3hvrnivo@4ax.com>. ..

negloid

Unemployment under Carter reached much higher levels and was generally
rising when he left office.