Posted on 12/27/2013 12:23:52 PM PST by SeekAndFind
The White House regularly threatens to “pivot” to the economy when polls go sour on them, or when it becomes necessary to distract the media — say, when a scandal erupts, or the central project of the administration turns out to be a complete fiasco. Barack Obama’s team has insisted that the topic for 2014 will be “income inequality,” while the rest of us think it’s going to be “oh my goodness, ObamaCare has sucked my checkbook dry,” especially for the middle class. Hey, either way, it’s all about the economy, right?
If Obama plans to complain about the economy and inequality in his 2014 State of the Union address, he’ll at least have plenty of company. According to the latest CNN poll, almost seven out of every ten Americans thinks the economy is in poor shape — five years after Obama took office, and 54 months after the recovery began:
A new CNN/ORC poll released Friday showed people were pessimistic that the economy was improving. Nearly 70% said the economy is generally in poor shape, and only 32% rated it good.
Two-thirds of respondents said most of the economic news they’ve heard recently was bad news. More rural than urban dwellers said the economy was in poor shape.
And just over half expected the economy to remain in poor shape a year from now.
CNN’s Gregory Wallace expresses a little surprise over its findings. Both the NASDAQ and the NYSE have surged, he writes, with the former up 40% since January. Housing and auto sales have picked up, although we’ve heard that off and on for the last three-plus years, too. Housing actually just took a slight turn downward on the heels of a very good year, although that may have more to do with a lack of inventory and tight lending thanks to new regulations in the mortgage market.
It’s not just a feeling, either. Americans are putting their money where their pessimism is:
Over half of Americans are cutting back on spending on clothing and appliances, emphasizing the public’s uncertainty in the economy. Additionally, 36 percent are even cutting back on food and medicine, up from 31 percent in 2008.
Wallace notes at CNN that this is lowest number on those measures since the economy was in free-fall. That’s not an issue of inequality; it’s a measure of how poorly the Obama administration’s policies have worked in the so-called recovery.
Under these circumstances, especially for a President who’s been in office for five years, one might expect a SOTU that tries up-selling the economy, rather than slamming it as unfair. After all, who’s been in charge for the last five years? Whose party had full control of Washington when the recovery started? Talking about inequality now would be a bit like opposing the PATRIOT Act for Obama — it’s a little late for that kind of posturing. He may count on the fact that people still tend to blame George W. Bush more than him for the economic collapse, but that doesn’t mean that they think he’s much better on the economy. His last approval level on that issue came from last week’s Washington Post/ABC poll, which put Obama’s approval at 42/55 overall, 37/59 with independents, and only 44/52 among women.
Besides, let’s not forget that ObamaCare was this administration’s big project to eliminate inequality in access to health-insurance coverage. How’s that working out for Americans? Anyone really excited to see Team Obama apply all of their demonstrated skills from the ObamaCare fiasco and apply them across the entire economy? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?
I know I'm "old school," but doesn't 70% + 32% = 102%?
The problem is high unemployment caused by the off-shoring of our industries. The stores are full of stuff made in China while Americans are looking for jobs.
The party and candidate that figure this out and actually put forth a plan to correct it could win in a landslide.
But since both parties share a brain, and not a particularly good brain either, I'm not hopeful.
The problem is high unemployment caused by the off-shoring of our industries. The stores are full of stuff made in China while Americans are looking for jobs.
The party and candidate that figure this out and actually put forth a plan to correct it could win in a landslide.
But since both parties share a brain, and not a particularly good brain either, I'm not hopeful.
It says NEARLY 70%, not exactly 70%.
And what about those who “do not know,” or “no opinion?”
New math. Seventy percent plus thirty-two percent equals whatever a liberal wants it to equal.
They try to get their polls to mirror elections as much as possible.
RE: New math. Seventy percent plus thirty-two percent equals whatever a liberal wants it to equal.
It says: “Nearly 70% said the economy is generally in poor shape”.
NEARLY 70% is not 70%.
I say again. When the Commie pinko fag leaves the WH, the economy will improve,
You ole coot, it's the NEW MATH.. Geeez .. Do we youngsters have to teach you everything? :)
BTW, I had my 12 yr old granddaughter fix my remote control to turn my new TV on this morning.. Yikes!
“Both the NASDAQ and the NYSE have surged, he writes, with the former up 40% since January”
That is mostly because of QE3. AKA running the printing presses full time. Stop QE3 and the market will drop like a rock.
I don’t feel good about this poll...
“CNN’s Gregory Wallace expresses a little surprise over its findings. Both the NASDAQ and the NYSE have surged, he writes, with the former up 40% since January.”
And as we all know, the stock market is “the economy”.
If the government weren’t trying to destroy the middle class at every turn, the economy would be doing quite well now or at least much broader in terms of a recovery.
Yes,but is it STILL George Bush’s fault?????????????????
The fed’s pumped enough money into the economy to float a ship... I suspect CNN’s attempting to help democrats by lowering expectations. Excessive use of a ‘credit card’ can give the illusion that all is fine. Dems don’t expect the bill to come due until after then next election.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.