GPG takes a look at publicly-released polls on a wide range of key economic issues on everything from how the public views the current state of the economy to views on taxes.

1. The
Economy
–
American
Public
Opinion
Landscape
April,
2014

2. TABLE
OF
CONTENTS
1
1. Current
Economic
Indicators…………………………………………….....2
2. Percep<ons
of
Economic
Condi<ons
/
Views
of
the
Future…………………………………………………………………………………..3
3. President
Obama,
Congress
and
the
Economy…………….……..10
4. Views
on
Job
Situa<on.….....…….……………………………..……….…15
5. Views
on
Personal
Financial
Situa<on…………………………………21
6. Views
on
Taxes………………………………………………...………………..27
Slide

3. CURRENT
ECONOMIC
INDICATORS
SHOW
IMPROVEMENT
OVER
ONE
YEAR
AGO
2
INDICATOR
A
YEAR
AGO
April
2013
NOW
April
2014
Unemployment
Rate
7.6%
6.7%
Infla<on
Rate
1.5%
1.5%
Stock
Market
(DJIA)
14,839.80
16,173.24
Consumer
Confidence
Index
78.6
82.6
U.S.
Interest
Rates
.25%
.25%
Consumer
Price
Index
(CPI)
231.485
235.17
Sources:
U.S.
Bureau
of
Labor
Sta<s<cs,
Trading
Economics

4. 3
Perceptions
of
Economic
Conditions
/
Views
of
the
Future

5. MAJORITY
OF
AMERICANS
CONTINUE
TO
FEEL
THE
NATION
IS
ON
THE
WRONG
TRACK
4
Source:
Huffpost
Pollster
Aggregate
Data,
as
of
April
14,
2014
RIGHT
DIRECTION
29.5%
WRONG
TRACK
60.4%

6. REPUBLICANS
ARE
LESS
SATISFIED
WITH
THE
WAY
THINGS
ARE
GOING
5
In
general,
how
sa<sfied
are
you
with
the
way
things
are
going
in
the
na<on
today;
are
you
very
sa<sfied,
somewhat
sa<sfied,
somewhat
dissa<sfied,
or
very
dissa<sfied?
Source:
Quinnipiac
University
Poll,
January
15-­‐19,
2014
0%
10%
29%
59%
Very
sa<sfied
Somewhat
sa<sfied
Somewhat
dissa<sfied
Very
dissa<sfied
4%
43%
36%
18%
Very
sa<sfied
Somewhat
sa<sfied
Somewhat
dissa<sfied
Very
dissa<sfied
REPUBLICANS
DEMOCRATS
Note:
“Don’t
know”
results
are
not
shown.

7. A
MAJORITY
CONTINUES
TO
RATE
THE
CONDITION
OF
THE
ECONOMY
AS
BAD
6
Source:
CBS
News
Poll,
March
20-­‐23,
2014
How
would
you
rate
the
condi<on
of
the
na<onal
economy
these
days?
Is
it
very
good,
fairly
good,
fairly
bad,
or
very
bad?
19%
32%
37%
37%
37%
80%
66%
61%
62%
61%
Jan
2012
Jan
2013
Dec
2013
Feb
2014
Apr
2014
Bad
Good

8. 7
During
the
next
twelve
months,
do
you
think
that
the
na<on’s
economy
will
get
beier,
get
worse,
or
stay
about
the
same?
Will
stay
the
same
Will
get
worse
Will
get
beMer
Source:
NBC/WSJ
Survey,
March
5-­‐9,
2014
AND,
INCREASING
NUMBERS
OF
AMERICANS
THINK
THAT
THE
ECONOMY
WILL
CONTINUE
TO
STAY
THE
SAME
IN
THE
NEXT
YEAR
37%
40%
38%
33%
35%
27%
36%
42%
44%
45%
38%
32%
31%
27%
17%
23%
29%
26%
17%
23%
19%
19%
20%
25%
18%
18%
13%
9%
28%
18%
21%
24%
42%
34%
24%
25%
44%
35%
42%
46%
41%
45%
38%
32%
35%
34%
33%
49%
47%
48%
38%
42%
46%
48%
Jan
2012
Mar
2012
Apr
2012
May
2012
Jun
2012
Jul
2012
Aug
2012
Sept
2012
Sept
2012
Oct
2012
Dec
2012
Jun
2013
Jul
2013
Sept
2013
Oct
2013
Oct
2013
Dec
2013
Mar
2014
Note:
“Unsure/Refused”
results
are
not
shown.

9. YET,
A
MAJORITY
OF
AMERICANS
FEELS
THE
ECONOMY
IS
RECOVERING
8
Source:
ABC
News/Washington
Post
Poll,
February
27
-­‐
March
2,
2014
Regardless
of
whether
or
not
the
recession
is
over,
in
terms
of
your
own
personal
experience,
do
you
feel
the
economy
has
or
has
not
begun
to
recover?
Has
begun
to
recover
Has
not
begun
to
recover
44%
50%
45%
34%
41%
46%
42%
36%
45%
49%
53%
53%
56%
59%
56%
54%
49%
53%
63%
57%
53%
57%
63%
54%
49%
45%
46%
43%
39%
42%
Nov
09
Dec
09
Feb
10
Oct
10
Dec
10
Mar
11
Jun
11
Nov
11
Jan
12
Mar
12
Dec
12
Mar
13
May
13
Dec
13
Mar
14
Note:
“Unsure/Refused”
results
are
not
shown.

10. PESSIMISM
SURROUNDING
THE
NATIONAL
DEBT
AND
HEALTH
CARE
COSTS
FOR
THE
COMING
YEAR
9
Source:
Bloomberg
Poll,
March
7-­‐10,
2014
I’m
going
to
men<on
some
aspects
of
the
na<onal
economic
situa<on.
For
each,
please
tell
me
if
you
expect
things
to
be
beier
in
the
next
12
months,
worse,
or
about
the
same
as
the
last
12
months.
BeMer
Worse
About
the
same
Not
sure
The
housing
market
42%
16%
37%
5%
America’s
economic
standing
in
the
world
19%
37%
42%
2%
The
size
of
the
na<onal
debt
13%
59%
25%
3%
Health
care
costs
21%
52%
24%
3%

11. 10
Obama,
Congress,
and
the
Economy

12. OBAMA
ENTERING
THE
SPRING
WITH
AN
OVERALL
JOB
APPROVAL
IN
THE
MID
40S
11
DISAPPROVE
51.5%
APPROVE
44.2%
Source:
Huffpost
Pollster,
Aggregate
Data
as
of
April
14,
2014

13. A
MAJORITY
OF
AMERICANS
DISSAPROVE
OF
OBAMA’S
HANDLING
OF
THE
ECONOMY
12
Approve
Disapprove
Terrorism
53%
38%
Afghanistan
40%
45%
Health
Care
40%
56%
Economy
39%
56%
Foreign
Policy
36%
49%
Immigra<on
35%
56%
Source:
CBS
News
Poll,
March
20-­‐23,
2014

14. ONE
IN
THREE
AMERICANS
PLACE
MOST
RESPONSIBILITY
ON
OBAMA
FOR
THE
STATE
OF
THE
NATIONAL
ECONOMY
13
Who
do
you
think
is
most
responsible
for
the
current
state
of
the
na<onal
economy?
Would
you
say
it
is:
Source:
Baileground
Poll,
March
16-­‐20,
2014
Note:
“Unsure/Refused”
results
are
not
shown.
3%
18%
4%
4%
9%
12%
13%
32%
None
(VOL)
Combina<on/Other
(VOL)
Big
Labor
Unions
Wealthy
People
Big
Companies
Republicans
in
Congress
Democrats
in
Congress
President
Obama

15. AMERICANS
SLIGHTLY
MORE
CONFIDENT
WITH
GOP
ON
ECONOMIC
ISSUES
14
I
am
going
to
read
you
a
list
of
issues.
Please
listen
as
I
read
the
list
and
tell
me,
for
each
one,
whether
you
have
more
confidence
in
the
Republican
Party
or
the
Democra<c
Party
to
deal
with
this
issue.
Source:
Baileground
Poll,
March
16-­‐20,
2014
39%
36%
37%
39%
47%
47%
45%
48%
35%
47%
52%
54%
51%
49%
42%
44%
45%
41%
43%
43%
Represen<ng
the
middle
class
Standing
up
for
the
middle
class
Medicare
Social
Security
Foreign
Policy
Taxes
Jobs
The
federal
budget
and
spending
Solving
problems
The
Economy
Republican
Party
DemocraTc
Party
Note:
“Both
Equal”,
“Neither”
and
“Unsure”
results
are
not
shown.

16. 15
Views
on
Job
Situation

17. UNEMPLOYMENT/JOBS
SEEN
AS
THE
MOST
IMPORTANT
PROBLEM
FACING
THE
COUNTRY
16
Source:
Gallup
Poll,
March
6-­‐9,
2014
What
do
you
think
is
the
most
important
problem
facing
this
country
today?

18. A
PLURALITY
THINKS
THAT
THE
NATION’S
JOB
SITUATION
IS
CURRENTLY
GETTING
WORSE
17
Source:
Fox
News
Poll,
March
23-­‐25,
2014
36%
28%
46%
42%
44%
39%
48%
56%
46%
44%
39%
48%
11%
13%
6%
10%
13%
9%
May
-­‐10
Jul-­‐10
Oct-­‐12
Apr-­‐13
Jul-­‐13
Mar-­‐14
Genng
beier
Genng
worse
Staying
the
same
Do
you
think
the
na<on’s
job
situa<on
is
genng
beier
or
genng
worse?

19. HOWEVER,
A
MAJORITY
THINKS
THAT
IT
WILL
BE
BETTER
OR
ABOUT
THE
SAME
IN
A
YEAR
18
I’m
going
to
men<on
some
aspects
of
the
na<onal
economic
situa<on.
For
each,
please
tell
me
if
you
expect
things
to
be
beier
in
the
next
12
months,
worse,
or
about
the
same
as
the
last
12
months.
38%
37%
24%
Beier
About
the
same
Worse
Source:
Bloomberg
Poll,
March
7-­‐10,
2014
75%
of
Americans
think
that
job
growth
will
be
beier
or
about
the
same
in
the
next
year.
Note:
“Not
sure”
results
are
not
shown.

20. FEW
AMERICANS
RATE
THE
CURRENT
JOB
MARKET
IN
THEIR
REGION
AS
GOOD
19
Source:
Harris
Poll,
March
12
-­‐
17,
2014
Good
20%
Neither
good
nor
bad
32%
Bad
47%
How
would
you
rate
the
current
job
market
of
your
region
of
the
na<on?

21. AND
MOST
AMERICANS
BELIEVE
THAT
THE
JOB
MARKET
IN
THEIR
REGION
WILL
STAY
THE
SAME
20
Source:
Harris
Poll,
March
12
-­‐
17,
2014
7%
16%
55%
21%
2%
Will
be
much
worse
Will
be
somewhat
worse
Will
remain
the
same
Will
be
somewhat
beier
Will
be
much
beier
How
do
you
think
that
the
job
market
in
your
region
of
the
na<on
will
change
over
the
next
6
months?

22. 21
Views
on
Personal
Financial
Situation

23. A
PLURALITY
OF
AMERICANS
SAYS
THEY
ARE
BETTER
OFF
THAN
THEY
WERE
AT
THE
BEGINNING
OF
2009
22
Are
you
personally
beier
off
or
worse
off
than
you
were
at
the
beginning
of
2009?
Source:
Bloomberg
Poll,
March
7-­‐10,
2014
About
the
same
Worse
off
Beier
off
17%
36%
46%
Note:
“Not
Sure”
results
are
not
shown.

24. BUT
A
PLURALITY
SAYS
THAT
THEIR
HOUSEHOLD
INCOME
IS
JUST
ENOUGH
TO
PAY
THE
BILLS
23
Source:
CBS
News
Poll,
March
20
-­‐
23,
2014
Thinking
about
your
household
income,
would
you
say
that
it
is
more
than
enough
so
that
you
can
save
money
or
buy
some
extras,
just
enough
to
meet
your
bills
and
obliga<ons,
or
is
it
not
enough
to
meet
your
bills
and
obliga<ons?
Don't
know/No
answer
2%
Not
enough
to
pay
bills
23%
Just
enough
to
pay
bills
45%
Can
save
and
buy
extras
30%

25. A
SLIM
MAJORITY
SAYS
THEIR
STANDARD
OF
LIVING
IS
HIGHER
THAN
WHEN
THEY
WERE
A
CHILD
24
Source:
Bloomberg
Poll,
March
7-­‐10,
2014
Is
your
current
standard
of
living
higher,
lower
or
about
the
same
as
your
parents’
standard
of
living
when
you
were
a
child?
Note:
“Not
Sure”
results
are
not
shown.
54%
23%
21%
Higher
About
the
same
Lower

26. BUT
A
MAJORITY
THINK
THEIR
FAMILY’S
INCOME
IS
FALLING
BEHIND
THE
COST
OF
LIVING
25
Source:
Pew
Research
Center
Poll,
January
15
-­‐
19,
2014
Do
you
think
your
family’s
income
is
going
up
faster
than
the
cost
of
living,
staying
about
even
with
the
cost
of
living,
or
falling
behind
the
cost
of
living?
Going
up
faster
7%
Staying
about
even
34%
Falling
behind
57%
Don't
know/
Refused
2%

27. MOST
AMERICANS
SAY
THE
RECENT
GROWTH
IN
THE
STOCK
MARKET
HAS
HAD
LITTLE
OR
NO
EFFECT
ON
THEM
26
Would
you
say
the
recent
growth
in
the
U.S.
stock
market
has
made
you
feel
more
financially
secure,
or
has
it
had
liile
or
no
effect
on
your
personal
financial
situa<on?
More
financially
secure
21%
Liile
or
no
effect
77%
Not
sure
2%
Source:
Bloomberg
Poll,
March
7-­‐10,
2014

28. 27
Views
on
Taxes

29. ONE
IN
TWO
AMERICANS
SAY
THAT
THEIR
TAXES
ARE
TOO
HIGH
28
Too
high
About
right
Too
low
52%
42%
3%
Do
you
consider
the
amount
of
federal
income
taxes
you
have
to
pay
as
too
high,
about
right,
or
too
low?
Note:
“Refused/Not
answered”
results
are
not
shown.
Source:
Gallup
Poll,
April
3-­‐6,
2014

30. YET,
WHEN
ASKED
ABOUT
THEIR
“FAIR
SHARE,”
MOST
AMERICANS
SAY
THE
AMOUNT
THEY
PAY
IN
INCOME
TAXES
IS
ABOUT
RIGHT
29
42%
56%
1%
More
than
your
fair
share
About
right
Less
than
your
fair
share
Do
you
feel
you
pay
more
than
your
fair
share
in
federal
income
taxes,
less
than
your
fair
share,
or
is
the
amount
you
pay
about
right?
Note:
“Refused/Not
answered”
results
are
not
shown.
Source:
McClatchy-­‐Marist
Poll,
April
7-­‐10,
2014

31. 30
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