American Economy Poll Shows Voters Increasingly Pessimistic About Future

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Americans are deeply pessimistic about the future as economic concerns rise and White House talks on raising the U.S. debt limit sputter, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll released on Wednesday.

The number of Americans who believe the country is on the wrong track rose to 63 percent this month, up from 60 percent in June, with stubbornly high unemployment and prolonged gridlock in Washington dashing hopes of a swift economic recovery.

But voters do not appear to be holding President Barack Obama responsible for the problems so far. Obama's approval rating held relatively steady at 49 percent, down 1 percentage point from June. His approval rating among independents -- a group Obama needs to win re-election -- fell to 39 percent from 44 percent.

Obama's standing could deteriorate quickly if the economy does not begin to generate jobs and if Washington cannot show it is capable of solving problems, Ipsos pollster Julie Clark said.

"If those things don't happen, Obama will be in for a real challenge in getting re-elected next year," Clark said.

Obama and Republicans have hit an impasse in negotiations to raise America's borrowing limit before the government runs out of money to pay all of its bills on August 2. That could force the government to try to prioritize its payments.

Asked what bills the government should stop paying if the debt limit is not raised, 36 percent listed international creditors like banks and 12 percent listed government departments like agriculture and education.

The sputtering economy and high unemployment are certain to dominate the race for the White House in 2012, and the Republican candidates for the nomination to challenge Obama repeatedly have criticized his economic leadership.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[Yoshannah Scrigna]

07:37 AM on 07/16/2011

America needs to go back to good old fashioned american jobs with an American interest, Amen.
Vote Angelo Scrigna for President.

[Kids Formal]

03:53 PM on 07/14/2011

Obama is leading this country into a slum. I am deeply concern for our economy and the safety of our citizens. Hotels and government offices are laying off employees everywhere in Las Vegas, my home town. Policemen are being lay-offed by the city because of lack of funding. They are saying that they can no longer keep us safe. Can you believe that? What's next? I am concern about my job as well. I hope, my company will not relocate to another state... http://www.kidsformal.com/Store-Locations-s/27.htm

[GetAbike]

02:34 PM on 07/14/2011

Funny how many of todays stories and headlines, seemingly different, are related:

40 Facts That Prove The Working Class Is Being Systematically Wiped Out
http://www.businessinsider.com/end-of-the-middle-class-2011-7

Mass psychosis in the US
http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/07/20117313948379987.html

And of course the continuing barrage of health stories tell us that Americans are in no physical or mental shape to take care of themselves should we be cut loose from our safety net.

Pessimism is the proper emotion- we are on our own and there is no comfort or help on the horizon.

[jm26dream]

02:02 PM on 07/14/2011

Should I assume that suicide is my only option?

[Kenz300]

01:09 PM on 07/14/2011

I am deeply concerned about the childlike behavior of the Republican party.

They continue to act like 2 year olds that were spoiled as children.

Our form of government requires some compromise.

[RMorr2002]

04:41 PM on 07/14/2011

Those "2 year olds" are making outlandish statements like "We should no spend more than we take in"
and support crazy thing like a balanced budget amendment.  Meanwhile obama and those "sane" Democrats want to keep spending like there is no tomorrow!

[pooka47401]

01:01 PM on 07/14/2011

How can jobs be generated when the Republicans only want to press their Moral Agenda on the rest of us?? Anything that Obama tries to do is met with a Brick Wall of "NO". The Republicans think that they will win another election by destroying America. They think if they prevent Judges from being appointed to office, then they will have more spots to fill if they win next year. I am angry at Obama for not doing what he promised to do when he campaigned, but I don't blame him for Wall Street and Bush's decisions.

[Viper1st]

11:59 AM on 07/14/2011

14.1 million U.S. Citizens out of work ~ unemployment rate at 9.2%

8 million of the 11.2 million illegals in the USA are working U.S. jobs ~ illegally

Makes perfect sense to me

/scarc

[spinotter11]

12:32 PM on 07/14/2011

We all know that the wages and working conditions of those jobs taken by the undocumented workers exclude the possibility of Americans doing the work. What, are you willing to hit Lowe's parking lot Monday morning and stand out there waiting to be chosen?

[sc300nc]

11:53 AM on 07/14/2011

which translates into being extremely pessimistic about Obama

[spinotter11]

12:33 PM on 07/14/2011

About the current situation of our country.

[OldTulsan]

11:40 AM on 07/14/2011

Workers' share of national income is at an all-time low...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_thelookout/20110614/bs_yblog_thelookout/workers-share-of-national-income-plummets-to-record-low
Workers' share of national income plummets to record low - Yahoo! News

"Over the last decade, the share of U.S. national income taken home by workers has plummeted to a record low.

Check out the chart below, compiled by the Labor Department, and posted this week by conservative writer David Frum. It shows that the decline began with the brief recession that followed 9/11 in 2001. But it continued even as the economy picked up again, and got even worse once the Great Recession hit. In the weak recovery since then, workers' share of income just kept on falling..."

Meanwhile, corporate profits are skyrocketing...

http://research.stlouisfed.org/fred2/series/CP
FRED« Corporate Profits After Tax

[halfpricefaustian]

11:31 AM on 07/14/2011

The first things they should stop paying if the limit is not raised are congressional salaries, congressional healthcare benefits, and congressional pension payments. That would change the tenor of the situation pretty quickly.

[spinotter11]

12:34 PM on 07/14/2011

I'm pretty sure every federal legislator could ride out several months of not being paid better than almost all other Americans except those who pay them.

[Silverwolf72]

05:30 PM on 07/14/2011

I think you mean years
Most Americans would take years to make what they made in just 1

[the exit]

11:30 AM on 07/14/2011

" Americans are getting pessimestic about the econmy "
.
Things did come to a head, pressure capacity reached,
the end of the line .
This is as far as you can go dear society
all the good times and absence of brakes brought you to this presipice
of doom, all things vectored in on you
.
To be short of a comodity or resources and go get it by force from
someone who has it is an old pirate way of doing things, the modern civil way,
is to invent and inovate ourselves out of dependance and predicaments
.
The price of homes is tumbling down further, in a way, that it's good, because,
how do you explain a house without a single rock or brick, only match sticks,
and call it a home, a little gail wind and the roof is gone and yet, a 3o year loan
is taking for it .
Gold shoud no cost $1,560/oz
College should not cost $ 100, 000
You having a good time every night is not a birth-right
Interest charges are the sin of capitalism.... making money for nothing done
Corporate America is fed that way, with a platenum and golden spoon
the rest can wait for the crumbs .
.
A radicl shift in thinking and doing is what's needed to same this great nation

[Ret Chief]

11:22 AM on 07/14/2011

Of course BO is not to blame for the weak economy; we all know those damn ATM's are the ones to blame. (Psst, hey, how is that HOPE and CHANGE working out so far?)

[Viper1st]

12:15 PM on 07/14/2011

BHO took office ~ unemployment rate 7.8%

June 2011, unemployment rate 9.2%

2.2 million fewer U.S. Citizens have jobs

[roxiehart]

02:12 PM on 07/14/2011

Naw. Corporate jets, that's the problem.

[waujvari1274]

11:22 AM on 07/14/2011

""If those things don't happen, Obama will be in for a real challenge in getting re-elected next year," Clark said."

By whom??

Sorry folks, the only person that would give Obama anything remotely to a challenge is Hillary Clinton.

Republican politicians can't even agree amongst themselves let alone with anyone else. Add in, loss of workers rights, loss of women's rights, equality rights....not looking good.

[spinotter11]

12:37 PM on 07/14/2011

I wonder if she's thinking about a run. But what disillusioned me about the Clinton's is that in the eight years after he left the White House they accumulated $91 million dollars in speaking fees and so on. That's exactly the disproportionate distribution of income in this country which is at the root of all our problems. So I don't really believe in HRC either.

[spinotter11]

12:37 PM on 07/14/2011

Clintons, not Clinton's

I cannot allow that egregious typo to stand!

[darquelourd]

11:20 AM on 07/14/2011

I would be too. Look at the insane people you elected to represent you.

[DAV2008]

11:19 AM on 07/14/2011

See the movie " The Inside Job" this has been a vicious cycle since the 1980's most people forget or they want to forget if they were in the workforce then should realize the job losses were already in effect. Obama"s few mistakes does not come within an astronautical unit of what the Reagan Bush/ Clinton/ Bush Jr's tenures in the White House. People need to remember theat it was the repeal of Glasss Steagal that jeopardized Deposits and 401k from market instability. We lost Trillions due to the DOT Com Bubble (5 tr), Savings and Loan Scandal 1988 Charles Keating (convicted but later pardoned by Repubs). Corporate corruption has been in the landscape for decades. Quit playing the blame game this is bs.