GALLUP NEWS SERVICE
PRINCETON, NJ – Prior to Sept. 11, public support for a war on terrorism was much different than it is today. Although the threat of terrorism in the United States existed, there did not seem to be a consensus about how the nation should respond to it. In sharp contrast, it is now very clear that the American public overwhelmingly supports the war on terrorism and the U.S. military attacks in Afghanistan.
By the same token, prior to the terrorist attacks, the U.S. economy was very weak and showing signs of getting weaker. Still, there did not seem to be a consensus that both strong and immediate fiscal and monetary policy actions were needed to address our nation's economic situation.
Whether it is a result of the so-called "rally effect," a response to the economic impact of the attacks on key sectors of the economy, and/or simply a belated recognition of how badly the U.S. economy is really doing, the situation has changed dramatically in recent weeks. Last weekend's Gallup poll (Oct. 5-6) shows that there is now overwhelming public support for the nation's policy-makers to take strong monetary and fiscal policy actions to address the current U.S. recession that many economists fear will soon spread worldwide.
In fact, nine out of 10 Americans now say it is extremely important (54%) or very important (36%) that the president and the Congress address the economy in the next year. This is second only to terrorism, which 95% of Americans say is an extremely/very important national priority that must be addressed.
So Far, Policy Makers Get High Marks
Evidently, the president is now in a good position to deal with the economy from the public's perspective. Nearly three out of four Americans (72%) say they approve of the way he is handling the economy. This is up from just about half (54%) of the public who approved of the way the president was handling the economy in July of this year. By way of contrast, even when President George H.W. Bush had an extremely high 87% overall job approval rating at the close of the Persian Gulf War in March 1991, his approval rating for handling the economy was only at 37%.
By the same token, the Federal Open Market Committee seems to be holding up its end. At its October 2 meeting it cut interest rates another one-half percent. This means that the Fed has cut rates a full 1% since the Sept. 11 attacks. And, the Fed has made it clear that further cuts will be made if needed.
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy?
|
|
Approve |
Disapprove |
No opinion |
|
2001 Oct 5-6 |
72 |
23 |
5 |
|
2001 Jul 10-11 |
54 |
36 |
10 |
|
2001 May 18-20 |
51 |
41 |
8 |
|
2001 Apr 20-22 ^ |
55 |
38 |
7 |
|
2001 Mar 9-11 |
55 |
32 |
13 |
|
2001 Feb 1-4 |
53 |
27 |
20 |
|
^Based on half sample |
But, Americans Want New Economic Legislation
What is it that the government should do to stimulate the economy? There is no shortage of suggested actions and legislation, with the Bush administration and Democrats in Congress, in particular, offering differing plans and approaches.
Last weekend's Gallup poll (Oct. 5-6) suggests that Americans are not -- at this point in time -- highly specific in their views about what should be done. The poll shows overwhelming public support for Congress to pass a wide variety of differing components that could be included in an economic stimulus package:
- More than nine out of 10 Americans (94%) support extending unemployment insurance and health coverage for workers affected by the terrorist attacks.
- More than eight out of 10 Americans (86%) support passing new tax cuts for low- and moderate-income workers.
- Eight out of 10 Americans (81%) also support raising the minimum wage.
- Three out of four Americans (75%) support increased government spending for job training, construction, and other items.
- Three out of four Americans (74%) also support making the recently passed tax cuts effective immediately.
- Six out of 10 Americans (61%) support passing new tax cuts for business.
Although the public currently gives policy makers high marks, last weekend's Gallup poll also makes it very clear that the president and the Congress must not forget about the U.S. economy even as they pursue terrorists around the world. In order to maintain current economic approval ratings, it appears that it will be necessary for the president to quickly get legislation passed to stimulate the U.S. economy.
In the short-term, it is clear that the success of the president and the Congress lies in the way the war on terrorism is waged. In the longer-term, however, history suggests that it may be that the shape and success of the economic stimulus package will be of as great or even more importance in the way Americans perceive their leaders.
Survey Methods
These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 819 adults, 18 years and older, conducted Oct. 5-6, 2001. For results based on this sample, one can say with 95 percent confidence that the maximum error attributable to sampling and other random effects is plus or minus 4 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.
