Recession's Toll Is Written in Cutbacks, Layoffs and Worry
Job Insecurity Is at Worst Level in 33 Years of Polls
POLICY and POLITICS
Barack Obama's election hasn't changed the basic dynamic; 82 percent still say the country is "seriously off on the wrong track," eight points shy of the record level in mid-October but still an astonishing number.
Asked the single biggest problem for Obama and the Congress to address, 66 percent cite economic issues -- a huge level of agreement on an open-ended question. And while 55 percent say Obama's off to a good start on the economy, for the first time in ABC/Post polling, just over half don't think there's much he can do to improve it.
Obama does shine in comparison to George W. Bush: Just 24 percent approve of his handling of the economy; likewise, just 23 percent approve of the overall federal response to the economic situation. And 69 percent don't think the government has put in place adequate controls on how economic recovery money is being spent.
Looking ahead, two-thirds support a huge economic stimulus of construction projects and other programs, as Obama has proposed. But support weakens considerably -- to about an even split -- if it'll add to the federal budget deficit. And there's doubt here, too, that sufficient spending controls will be put in place to avoid waste and fraud -- suggesting the path to recovery, like the recession itself, could be an especially bumpy road.
METHODOLOGY -- This ABC News/Washington Post poll was conducted by telephone Dec. 11-14, 2008, among a random national sample of 1,003 adults, including landline and cell-only respondents. Results for the full sample have a 3-point error margin; click here for a detailed description of sampling error. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, PA.
Do you have more information about this topic? If so, please click here to contact the editors of ABC News.
