Ethics Newsline®

“Mood of Americans Shows Sharp Decline,” Poll Finds

Mar 31st, 2008 • Posted in: Research Report

Three in four now believe U.S. is in a recession

From Reuters/Zogby:

“With U.S. recession fears hitting new highs, the overall mood of Americans has taken a sharp turn for the worse, a new Reuters/Zogby poll shows. The Reuters/Zogby Index, which measures American confidence, has fallen to a new low of 87.7 from 99.3 last month, when the index boasted its highest rating since the baseline rating of 100 for the index was established in August.

“The report of public confidence in the economy and their nation comes after several days of dramatic economic headlines, but fieldwork for the survey was actually completed just as news was breaking Friday about the collapse of investment house Bear Stearns and the full percent cut of a key interest rate by the Federal Reserve — a quarter-point on Sunday and another three-quarters of a percent on Tuesday.

“The Reuters/Zogby index is comprised of 10 poll questions that gauge perceptions of the state of the country and the economy. Every one of the 10 data points declined in March compared to a month ago.

“Three in four Americans — 74% — believe the U.S. economy is currently in a recession, a sharp increase from the 54% surveyed last month who believed a recession could arrive sometime in the next year. Worries about the state of the nation’s economy may also be taking a toll on how Americans view their own economic circumstances — more than half (54%) give their personal financial situation a negative rating, up from 44% who said the same in last month’s survey….

“Likely voters are overwhelmingly dissatisfied with the performance of U.S. economic policy, with 87% who rate it negatively — up 10 points from the 77% who said the same in February — with half (50%) who now rate the nation’s economic policy as ‘poor.’ Discontent over the nation’s economic policy cuts across party lines….

“Nearly three in four are also pessimistic about the overall direction the U.S. is headed — 73% believe the country is on the wrong track, up from 62% who said the same last month. Independents are most likely to feel this way (85%), but most Democrats (77%) and Republicans (60%) also believe the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction.

“The gains in job approval ratings made by President George W. Bush and Congress over the past few months from their all-time lows last year have reversed course in this latest poll. Approval ratings for the President stand at just 26% this month, down from 34% who gave him positive job approval marks in February. Bush has lost ground across the political spectrum, including among likely voters in his own party….

“Likely voters are even more dissatisfied with the job performance of Congress — job approval ratings for Congress have fallen to just 13%, down from 17% who gave Congress a positive rating last month….”