POLL: What Economic Recovery? Obama, Unemployment and Foreclosures

Oct. 23, 2009— -- From the public's perspective, the rumors of economic recovery are greatly exaggerated.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll put it this way: "Many economists say that using the standards they apply, the recession probably is over. Thinking about your own experience of economic conditions, would you say that from your point of view the recession is over, or not over?"

Result: Not over, 82 percent.

Click here for PDF with charts and questionnaire.

That marks more than the disconnect between definitions of recession; it also points to the land mines that pockmark the political landscape, threatening potential woe to President Obama in particular and incumbent office-holders in general. Claims of a recovery that few people feel are fraught with the taint of disconnect.

GDP aside, plenty informs the public's continued experience of recession: unemployment, especially including people who've given up looking; declining work hours and personal income; foreclosures and more. It's also reflected in the ongoing ABC News consumer index, in which 89 percent rate the economy negatively, 77 percent call it a bad time to spend money and 59 percent say their own finances are hurting – all near their lows in 23 years of weekly polls.

Indeed, contrary to rumors of recovery, 74 percent in this poll are worried about the direction of the nation's economy over the next few years – down 14 points from its peak a year ago, but still three-quarters of the public. And six in 10 remain worried about their own family's financial prospects. These worries are very strong factors in belief the recession's not over.

Many also are baring their teeth at executives of companies associated with the carnage. Seventy-one percent support cutting executive compensation at companies that received emergency government loans in the past year. Fifty-eight percent support it strongly.

POLITICS – Politically, the economy very probably is the single biggest threat to Barack Obama. Well under half of Americans, 41 percent, think his economic program is making it better – which is part of the reason why, by 57-38 percent, the public opposes spending more on recovery efforts if doing so would increase the federal budget deficit.