Public Confidence In Stimulus Package's Effectiveness Ebbs, Poll Finds

Washington Post:

Barely half of Americans are now confident that President Obama's $787 billion stimulus measure will boost the economy, and the rapid rise in optimism about the state of the nation that followed the 2008 election has abated, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Read the whole story: Washington Post

Comments

[adamsmith3]

Most of the funds will kick in just in time to be pointless and inflationary. But it was all about the "look at me doing something drastic" effect anyway.

[petera63]

His main concern is to keep his chip up and to look "presidential".
The rest is silence (sorry, William).

[Pigeon2]

And making sure his "Tele" works

[platanoman]

oh whatever. there was a study that mention that bush's stimulus increased spending 3.5%. I think we will see the same success with this stimulus

[demfriend]

Fox and their friends the GOP have been doing a fine job of selling the "fix" of the economy is not happening fast enough or to suit them. How fast did we find ourselves in this mess? Eight plus years. How many wars did Bush start without thinking about anything but lying and being a "war president" for the history books? 2 How much trouble did the no-bid contracts cause our economy? Much more that our grandkids will find the bill due for still when they are paying taxes. So wanting a fix on the economy which appears to be stablizing in less than six months Obama has been in office is stupid, silly and outragious at best. It took years to make this mess and it might take a few to get back to where we can see profits like we want so get smart or shut up. No one in the GOP has any idea about how to fix what they made a mess of....

[SmellyOne]

In other words, "Blame FOX, Blame Bush, Blame the GOP." I think it's mindless drivel what you write.

[sviolette]

You and 19.9999% of the population. Aren't you lonely?

[Montgriz]

...some people just don't get it....Obama is failing to hold the huge majority and the enormous good will he had in January, and the reasons are obvious to all but his most young and ardent supporters. He is being over exposed and like any celebrity that leaves him vulnerable to critics of which there are millions for one reaon or the other.. Also, this "stimulus" was poorly thought out and mishandled. In most larger states the bulk is going to rural areas not the crowded cities where the need is greatest....the entire program lacks focus and leadership....
Money to a Democratic politician is like the military to a Republican....throw it at a problem and that should solve it...neither does.....the problems need solutions..... Obama has appointed the wrong people....tax dodgers, media darlings, Republicans, politicial cronies, and Wall St. and banker pals......he has rubberstamped much of the Bush policies, and broke his promises about gay rights...this will be a long 4 years for Obama and he has only been in office 5 months.......he still has time to turn things around, but this independent, along with the 14% who have changed their opinions since November is not optimistic it will happen....he had an opportunity to lead and make changes we demand....and didn't...72% of Americans want a public option on health insurance and the senate is going to reject it? This is not leadership from the White House....

[PatrickJ08]

Stimulus is barely started - back when it was proposed they were talking about having some projects start in april.

Aside from that, this stimulus cost half what the 2001 tax cuts have cost though 2008 (1.6 trillion).
People screaming about it are clueless.

[Montgriz]

If it has barely started, then it should be stopped and refigured. None of this money should be allowed into hands of politicians with ambitious aspirations who will only pander to their already well rewarded supporters. You prove my point in pointing out that the program has just begun...no one seems to know much about anything.....and it is even harder to find out. Terms like "shovel ready" are now very much in vogue but are merely bytes for the medial and panderers and civil service unions...the very people that caused a great deal of today's problems...We need more leadership here but don't seem to get it....

[sviolette]

I think it's the 20% that don't get it and not the 76% that actually do get it.

[simplify]

et te brute?

[Lilith33]

Some trolls dont know the southern states get more in subsidies and federal aid than northern states.Thats because the south keeps their people uneducated and poor.Better for their corporate mahssas.They dont like unions either.

[Hailey73]

Love those unions.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/22/new-york-teachers-paid-to_n_219336.html

[Lilith33]

Love those banksters and oil companies.... and war profiteers.........nobodies perfect.

[Conservador-Rebelde]

As much as I like being brought into the lime-light, I denounce the title of troII you want to give me. If anything is to blame for anybody being "uneducated," it is "No child left behind," a completely worthless policy that made schools pointless. As far as being poor, the only people to blame there are those who don't want to work/work hard enough. That isn't enough to merit the abhorrence you seem fit to give them.

And for the record, I am not from the south, but figured someone should defend them against your sIander.

[Lilith33]

Tell it to the People who work hard every day yet still cant get ahead.You cant work yourself out of a crummy school system.And who under funds the schools ?How are the funded?By the property tax? so rich kids go to good public schools and poor kids get the shaft.

[Lilith33]

P.S.
If it werent for the south we may have a decent country.Weve been held hostage to the south and the "southern stradegy" for decades.Know what that is?Ask Lee Attwater.

[Pigeon2]

Really? I live in Texas.....Our state is in the black...No state income tax, jobs, people moving here in masses....

[3dtrix]

When FDR put people back to work in the Great Depression - armies of people were put to work - the effect was felt in every city, and everyone knew someone working in public works, construction, education, forestry, or the arts. The paychecks went straight to the local grocery store, barber shop or bank, and was circulated in the local community. The present top-down disbursement of billions has NOT put armies of people to work, and the same people who are not working, are losing their homes, unable to afford medical care or retire are deeply resentful of the failure of the billions to reach them, having been short-stopped by the already wealthy.
The way to turn the economy around AND the spirit of the nation (and inspire belief and loyalty) is simply to put armies of people to work - as in right now! In every city and town. Hire teens to be lifeguards or scrub grafitti, start repaving thousands of roads, paint the post offices, rebuild New Orleans, whatever. Let people BE SEEN working!
Conservatives may seldom be right in policy matters, but they are right on in holding hard work in high esteem - we will not accuse, blame, or finger-point out of our present disaster, but I'm sure we can work our way out of it...

[sviolette]

I have never seen a conservative work hard in my life. They are the ones that make other people work hard and pay them the very minimum.

[Montgriz]

well you must not get out much....

[petera63]

Don't you ever leave your lair?

[otop016]

What a super dw eeb...I was just thinking the opposite. I've never seen a 'liberal' work hard my entire like. They're always looking for handouts, more vacation, more pay for less work. I'm sure you're the same way.

[Shovel4U]

Comrade; How astute - we all need to make the minimum. It's for the common good!

[research]

agreed. How about the federal governmnet immediately order green upgrades to all it's building?

[houseafire]

I thought that President Obama was going to put armies of people to work...the shovel ready projects first, etc. But, obviously that isn't going to happen and meanwhile, people are losing their homes, having a rough time feeding their families and just meeting basic needs, etc. :(

In my state of Oregon, they are not only laying off teachers and closing schools, but they are having to cut back on police and fire....these are facts.

I don't put any stock in the "conservatives"...it's the republicans that has put us in this place and it's the republicans who have been the complete party of NO on anything to help the American people...

I pretty much think ALL politicians stink right now....the only thing that any of them seem to care about is their own pocketbooks. I'm not sure what they plan to do when they have drained the American people dry....they probably will all fly off to Cuba or somewhere and live happily ever after.

[Lilith33]

We have work projects going in MASS.Not enough to cover the bush depression though.

[myvoice09]

Ummm... the democrats took control of congress waaayy back in 2006. They are responsible for most of the troubles with the economy i.e. massive debt, people out of work, Fannie & Freddie Mac. How is it that people keep forgetting (or disregarding) that?? They aren't completely to blame though; they did have help with some spend-a-holic republicans though.

[BigSlick674]

Help the Poor. Eat the Rich.

[heavysole]

Bravo!

[sviolette]

I got my stimulus yesterday. Bank of America lowered my mortgage 50% for the next six months at least. It seemed slow to arrive but it sure will help me get back on my feet after being laid off last fall. Thank you all very very much.

[heavysole]

I think that is great news, and I'm glad you are getting help.

[Lilith33]

Its not nearly big enough.but the banks got theirs.....some consolation there no?

[jesseandrews]

Just one thing for all you liberals, save some of your kool aid for after 2010 when the dems get kicked out of congress and then even more for after 2012 when your messiah gets kicked out.

[RickCoMatic]

Don't put the onus of this on President Obama.
If you are uncomfortable with how the Stimulus Package is working, blame a Republican Senator.
The Republican Senatorial Committee spent millions of dollars after Obama won the election, to keep GOP Control of the senate, by funding the law suits of outgoing Republican Senator Norm Coleman, who lost to Democrat Al Franken. The GOP Porked us every time they could with Al Franken unable to have a word to say about it.
Thank a Republican Senator.
Their States are getting money for "Shovel Ready Projects" like new Aquariums and Tennis Courts, lighted with Solar Power, while Democratic States can't get Hot-Top to fill potholes.
The GOP brought you this recession.
You bought their story and voted Republican.
Now, we suffer.
Until President Obama can clear the scorched-earth landscape of the rubble left-over by George W.

[jesseandrews]

God you really have drunk to much kool aid, get your head oput of the sand.

[tisfilm]

Why did you can't accept it.
What's Wrong with your brain.

[Conservador-Rebelde]

Agreed.

[delta7777]

.
At one time it was
referred to as "trickle down"
in GOP Goldmanomics.

Monetary policy has since evolved.
Our Monetocracy has lately discovered
that a steady drip....drip...drip..drip....drip...
is not fast enough, so they have now
legalized waterboarding the Taxpayer.
It is called "Bank Stimulus Gusher" economics

Much faster and more effective
in flushing the last few coins
out of Main Street pockets
.

[sviolette]

Yes and George HW Bush called it voodoo economics and it cost him a second term as president because he had to raise taxes after the Reagun trickle down.

[Tommygun264]

Actually, before Bill Clinton came in and turned the economy around, the old false god Reagan held the all-time record for tax increases, as well as government expansion and deficit spending. Just be careful who you tell - many pub lemmings haven't been exposed to reality for such a long time, they could have a fatal allergic reaction.

[Conservador-Rebelde]

http://www.zazzle.com/voters_remorse_bumper_sticker-128411287075874279

[tisfilm]

Please, change to "I'm sorry I vote for GOP"

[Conservador-Rebelde]

Well, in about three senatorial cases, I'd say that's true... For the rest that stood against the bailouts with which people are losing confidence, I'd say I'm proud of them.

[uberliberal]

It's in the mail.

[Chloe33]

When was it a stimulus? It was nothing but payback from the get go.

[Tommygun264]

I think you are confusing the Wall Street bailout designed and carried out by the Bush/Cheney administration prior to the election, with the economic recovery package that included much-needed repair, restoration and upgrades to our nation's infrastructure. In my home state of Hawaii alone, more than 42% of our bridges are in danger of immediate structural failure. Many of the states with pub administrations who have been most critical of and resistant to federal recovery funding are hiking their state and county taxes, arguing against all logic that they are having to do so because of all the federal spending.

[jesseandrews]

That is the states responsiblity not the federal government , their job is defense, foeign policy, and inter state commerce, and the roads they are responsible for are the interstates only.

[jazzofcourse08]

Wow!! Americans are truly impatient!! Been out of works almost a year and even I realize it doesn't take six months to get this economy back on track. In fact, it took eight years for this economy to fail.

[jesseandrews]

No it took 2 years and a bunch of congress people hiding fannie and freddy that started this, it actually started when Clinton passed the bill to deregulated the banks and let banks and buisness like leahman brothers merge and sell credit swaps to each other. Bush then pushed it along with the bill he signed for housing to, both parties has sold us out to special interest groups. They are the same just different sides of the same coin.

[Lilith33]

You wrong but Im sure your used to that.

“Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were among the principal culprits of the housing crisis” Wrong.

Fannie and Freddie were cogs in the giant mortgage machine, but they had nothing to do with the abdication of lending standards from 2002-07. That was a function of the Lend-to-Securitize business model of the sub-prime mortgage originators. THAT was the primary cause of the housing boom and bust, along with Ultra-low rates and a lack of Fed regulation of these sub-prime lenders

[TJCole]

Really it only took weeks for the banks to get hundreds of billions...and bonuses for their treachery and mutual criminality..!

[desertman]

Polls already are showing the public believes this is Obama's recession.

[Conservador-Rebelde]

Well, you can only pass the bIame so long, and they passed it far too long, say 3 months.

The funniest thing about their argument about the economy taking long to fix is that the Keynesian model, with which liberalism coincides with, says that the economy is very rigid, and that changes will have fast effects.

So they basically refute their own claim.

[LemonMeringue]

Um, didn't Bush force through the first bailout?

I would rather have seen nature take its course at that point.

After that first bailout it was too late. Obama is just stuck with the job of keeping us this side of the abyss.

[jesseandrews]

No he went to congress and they wrote the bailout, Bush is just as much to blame as Obama and congress, he voted on the first one , but he took credit for the stimulus and everything else since then, he has quadrupled the debt for what nothing, we will be paying for this crap of a stimulus for decades, your kids will have to pay this off.

[MuchMadness]

For how long will we be paying off the cost of the worthless wars in Iraq and Afghanistan?
How many billions of dollars has the military industrial complex, with the full support of both major parties, squandered over the past fifty years?

[unity08]

Rather than spout the Hannity talking point that Obama has qaudrupled the debt, it would be more honest to say that we are still operating under Bush's budget. That fiscal year ends in the fall, so please get it straight. That lie is old and worn out.
The 700 billion wall street bailout is part of the package, as is Bush's war and tax cuts etc.

[Tommygun264]

Nice try. Bush/Cheney dictated the terms of the bailout through their boy Paulson.

[sviolette]

Are you saying that you don't remember the three page bill that Paulson tried to get congress to approve? People on your side of the isle have very short memories. It gave all of the power and none of the responsablity to Paulson himself.

[Lilith33]

Did you complain when bush did that in a boom time?

[Conservador-Rebelde]

Your second statement is 100% correct. That would have been the best solution, and I am peeved that both dems and reps seemed to think it necessary to implement these outrageous bills, thinking they would fix the economy.