These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
33% Say Stimulus Helped Economy, 31% Say It Hurt
Monday, October 26, 2009
Questions linger about the effectiveness of the $787-billion economic stimulus plan proposed by President Obama and passed by Congress in February.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds voters almost evenly divided in their views of the plan: 33% say it has helped the economy, while 31% think it has hurt. Twenty-nine percent (29%) believe the plan has had no economic impact.
The stimulus package has received mixed reviews from the beginning and these numbers reflect a modest fallback from a month ago. Last month , 36% said the stimulus was good for the economy, and 28% said it was bad.
The week following the president's signing of the bill in February , 34% said the stimulus would help the economy, 32% said it would hurt the situation and 26% said it would have no impact.
Democrats remain the biggest cheerleaders of the plan: 58% say it has helped the U.S. economy. Forty-six percent (46%) of Republicans say it has hurt the economy. Thirty-six percent (36%) of voters not affiliated with either party share that pessimistic view.
Skepticism about the plan is highest among those earning $20,000 to $75,000 per year. Government employees are more than twice as likely as those who work in the private sector to view the stimulus as good for the economy. Premium Members can review full demographic crosstabs .
Voters are slightly less worried this month about the government's reaction to the weak economy. Forty-eight percent (48%) now say they are worried that the government will do too much rather than too little when it comes to current economic problems. Forty-two percent (42%) fear the government will do too little.
In September , 51% feared that the government would overreact, down from 54% the month before which was the high for the year-to-date.
That same 51% finding in July marked the first time since October 2008 that the majority of voters were worried the government would do too much in reaction to the economy.
Last October, as the meltdown of Wall Street dominated the front pages, 63% worried that the government would do too much. By the first week of November, that number had fallen to 46%, and it stayed below the 50% level for several months. ( Historical data is available for Premium Members only)
Men are more concerned than women that the government will do too much. Seventy-four percent (74%) of voters 18 to 29 worry that the government won't do enough.
Seventy-two percent (72%) of Republicans and 57% of unaffiliated voters worry about too much government action, while 70% of Democrats have the opposite concern and fear that it will do too little.
Those who earn $40,000 to $100,000 annually have the highest level of concern about the possibility of too much government response.
With unemployment hovering in the 10 percent vicinity, some in Congress and the White House would like a second economic stimulus plan, fearful that the first one hasn't done as much as they had hoped. But 62% of voters oppose the passage of another economic stimulus package this year .
Given that level of political opposition, the president and senior Democrats are considering several other options as part of what Time Magazine has called the administration's "stealth stimulus." One of the ideas is a proposed one-time $250 payment to seniors who for the first time in years won't be getting a cost of living increase in their Social Security checks because inflation's down.
Fifty percent (50%) of voters like the one-time payment idea until they learn that the plan is expected to cost taxpayers $13 billion . Then supports falls to 41%.
Two-out-of-three voters (67%) also oppose a national sales tax on all goods and services as a new source of government revenue.
Despite a massive government bailout of the ailing financial industry, 50% of Americans still lack confidence in the U.S. banking system .
Most voters believe that increases in government spending are bad for the economy and think tax cuts are an economic boost.
Thirty-eight percent (38%) of voters say cutting the federal budget deficit in half in the next four years should be the Obama administration's top priority , while 23% say health care reform is most important.
Rasmussen Reports has been tracking the public's response to the priorities listed by the president in a speech to Congress shortly after he took office. Deficit reduction has been the top priority all year.
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To view the original report, please use this link: "SHOW ME THE MONEY!"