Poll: Majority of voters say economy is improving; credit due to Obama

[Clio the Leo]

Im not usually the type to hang on every poll, but this one is pretty important. Lets hope it's the start of a trend.

American voters say 54 - 43 percent that the economy is beginning to recover and more voters give President Barack Obama credit for the upturn, but by 48 - 43 percent they want Congress to repeal his health care overhaul, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

The country is in recession, 73 percent of voters say, although that number is down from 79 percent in a July 22 survey by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University. Voters think 46 - 28 percent that President Obama's policies will help rather than hurt the economy.


<snip>

Another sign of improvement for Obama is that American voters trust him more than congressional Republicans 46 - 39 percent to handle the economy. That compares to a November 17 Quinnipiac University survey when voters trusted Republicans more 45 - 42 percent.

"Voters aren't exactly jumping for joy about the economy, but they think it has turned the corner," said Brown. "Last July only 44 percent thought the recovery had begun and slightly more voters give President Obama's policies credit for righting the ship. Overall, the numbers aren't a ringing endorsement of Obamanomics, but they are a step in the right direction for him.

http://www.quinnipiac.edu/x1284.xml?ReleaseID=1549

[Laelth]

1. Interesting.

I guess 53% of Americans base their opinion of the health of the economy on the health of the DJIA. Sadly, there's no reliable correlation between the two.

-Laelth

[ProSense]

6. Maybe it has to do with their 401Ks. n/t

[Exilednight]

12. There's some merit to what you are saying. Many people are stupid enough to believe

that if the markets are going up, then the economy must be doing good.

We can thank the Clinton and Bush2 administration for this meme. Even when unemployment was rising, Bush2 would say "but look, the markets are going up."

Clinton shares the fault for enforcing the belief that overvalued markets are a healthy sign of economic prosperity. Little did he know, or maybe he did, that he was laying the groundwork for an economic meltdown.

Clinton gathered the wood and lit the fire, then Bush2 came along and dumped a truck of gasoline on it. Obama seems to be going around and looking for more wood to toss on.

[Exilednight]

2. The majority of voters are idiots and don't understand macro-economics.

Let's see how they feel when unemployment is still hovering between 8 and 9 percent during the next election.

[OwnedByFerrets]

4. Bingo

[Exilednight]

7. That poll was probably taken before

this came out:

"The number of first-time claims for unemployment insurance payments jumped in the first week of 2011 to the highest level since October as more Americans lined up to file following the holidays.

Initial jobless claims rose by 35,000 to 445,000, according to Labor Department data released today. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for 410,000 filings. The average number of applications over the past four weeks, a less-volatile gauge, increased to 416,500."

According to Krugman, we need to create around 250,000 jobs/month just to shave .1% from the true unemployment number.

Most economists will tell you that we need to create somewhere between 120,000 to 150,000 jobs just to keep up with people entering the workforce. We're not anywhere close to those numbers.

[Marsala]

9. Hovering between 8 and 9 percent would be seen as an improvement

Thanks to the last two years, the bar for recovery has been set really low.

[Exilednight]

11. It was 7.4 when he took office. n/t

[Qutzupalotl]

13. and in free fall. Thanks, George.

[Exilednight]

18. There is no doubt that much of our current economic problems fall upon

George Bush. But we also have to be truthful and recognize that Obama's plan to fix the economy has not had the greatest impact. When your stimulus contains large amount of tax cuts (the least productive form of stimulus) you might want to rethink the plan.

[uponit7771]

14. Another conservative half truth argument against Obama....wow, right hear on du

[Exilednight]

16. What's the half truth? Unemployment, when he took office, was at 7.4%.

There's no gray area. Either it was or it wasn't. It just so happens that it was.

[Scurrilous]

3. K & R

:thumbsup:

[OregonBlue]

5. I own a small business and orders are definitely picking up. Thank heavens. It's been a long 5 years

[Odin2005]

8. War is Peace! Ignorance is Knowledge! Slavery is Freedom!

[cottonseed]

15. Copy and Paste is Useless!

[trayNTP]

10. Maybe they should start surveying people who don't have landlines.

[AtomicKitten]

17. Bikini graph!