Americans are a little more confident now than late last year about how much money the federal government has left in the bank – even as Congress and the Obama Administration plan to spend hundreds of billions more of taxpayer dollars.
Fifty-two percent (52%) of Americans say it is very likely that a large amount of taxpayer money in the proposed bank bailout plan and the new economic recovery plan will be wasted, due to inadequate oversight by the government.
While the Obama Administration is pledging up to $2.5 trillion in support for the troubled U.S. financial system, 56% of Americans oppose giving bankers any additional government money or any guarantees backed by the government.
All sorts of big government solutions are being proposed to combat the country’s economic troubles, but Americans are clear on one thing: 75% say the federal government should not take over the U.S. banking system.
Seventy-three percent (73%) of voters now say buying a home is still the best investment most families can make, despite the continued instability of the U.S. housing market.
Forty-eight percent (48%) of U.S. voters say that, generally speaking, increased government spending is bad for the economy.
Voters are evenly divided over whether Congress should attempt to fix the country’s troubled housing market before it takes any other action to help the economy.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of American women say men and women do not receive equal pay for equal work in the United States. A majority of men (53%) agree, but 37% do not.
Fifty percent (50%) of U.S. voters say the final economic recovery plan that emerges from Congress is at least somewhat likely to make things worse rather than better, but 39% say such an outcome is not likely.
Support for the economic recovery plan working its way through Congress has fallen again this week. For the first time, a plurality of voters nationwide oppose the $800-billion-plus plan.
The Discover U.S. Spending Monitor rose 1.2 points in January, mainly due to a slight increase in economic confidence from consumers. The rise in optimism was largely offset by continued restraint on spending intentions, as consumers, buffeted by dismal housing, labor and financial news continue to keep a tight hold on their purse strings.
Americans have a much dimmer view of each of the Big Three automakers than they did two years ago, but 41% still believe the U.S. automobile industry is very important to the financial stability of the overall economy. That, however, is down from 49% in 2007.
The Rasmussen Employment Index, a monthly measure of U.S. worker confidence in the employment market, fell six more points in January to 61.1. That’s the fourth straight month that the Index has fallen to a record low. Since September, workplace confidence has fallen 27 points.
Eighty-eight percent (88%) of American adults say the executives of companies that need federal money to stay in business should not receive bonuses. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that only eight percent (8%) believe the bonuses are okay while five percent (5%) are not sure.
Public support for the economic recovery plan crafted by President Obama and congressional Democrats has slipped a bit over the past week. At the same time, expectations that the plan will quickly become law have increased.
Sixty-one percent (61%) of American workers say that if they leave their current job, it will be their choice, a significant drop in confidence from four years ago.
Thirty-seven percent (37%) of Americans say it is better to work for the government than in the private sector in the current economic climate.
Paul Krugman, last year's winner of the Nobel Prize for economics and a regular columnist for the New York Times, recently wrote that you should “write off anyone who asserts that it’s always better to cut taxes than to increase government spending because taxpayers, not bureaucrats, are the best judges of how to spend their money.”
Fifty-seven percent (57%) of voters nationwide say that tax cuts generally help the economy. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey found that only 17% disagree and believe that tax cuts will hurt the economy.
Apple CEO Steve Jobs has had the business world in a tizzy for months wondering about his mysterious illness, but 41% of Americans say the innovative technology company he co-founded will do fine without him.
