Poll: 8 in 10 Americans Say Country Is On the Wrong Track

[RunInRed 18,154]

NEW YORK — More than 80 percent of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction, the highest such number since the early 1990s, according to a new survey.

The CBS News-New York Times poll released Thursday showed 81 percent of respondents said they believed "things have pretty seriously gotten off on the wrong track." That was up from 69 percent a year ago, and 35 percent in early 2002.

The survey comes as housing turmoil has rocked Wall Street amid an economic downturn. The economy has surpassed the war in Iraq as the dominating issue of the U.S. presidential race, and there is now nearly a national consensus that the United States faces significant problems, the poll found.

A majority of Democrats and Republicans, men and women, residents of cities and rural areas, college graduates and those who finished only high school say the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to the survey, which was published on The New York Times' Web site.

Seventy-eight percent of respondents said the country was worse off than five years ago; just 4 percent said it was doing better.

The newspaper said Americans are more dissatisfied with the country's direction than at any time since the poll's inception in the early 1990s. Only 21 percent of respondents said the overall economy was in good condition, the lowest such number since late 1992. Two in three people said they believed the economy was already in recession.

Still, the approval rating of President George W. Bush did not change since last summer, with 28 percent of respondents saying they approved of the job he was doing.

The poll also found that Americans blame government officials for the housing crisis more than banks or home buyers and other borrowers. Forty percent of respondents said regulators were mostly to blame, while 28 percent named lenders and 14 percent named borrowers.

Americans favored help for people but not for financial institutions in assessing possible responses to the mortgage crisis. A clear majority said they did not want the government to lend a hand to banks, even if the measures would help limit the depth of a recession.

Respondents were considerably more open to government help for homeowners at risk of foreclosure. Fifty-three percent said they believed the government should help those whose interest rates were rising, while 41 percent said they opposed such a move.

The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults was conducted from March 28 to April 2. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,346308,00.html

[AURaptor 1,137]

The poll also found that Americans blame government officials for the housing crisis more than banks or home buyers and other borrowers. Forty percent of respondents said regulators were mostly to blame, while 28 percent named lenders and 14 percent named borrowers.

Americans favored help for people but not for financial institutions in assessing possible responses to the mortgage crisis. A clear majority said they did not want the government to lend a hand to banks, even if the measures would help limit the depth of a recession

This would be a case where the " majority " of people are wrong. It is the fault of the lenders in large part, and less so the home buyers. But to blame the Gov't, that's absurd. Also, helping those out who can't pay the mortgages they said they were good for isn't the answer either. The answer is to simply let the industry work itself out of the jam it worked itself into.

[Auburn85 436]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23945126

Aid for individuals favored

In assessing possible responses to the mortgage crisis, Americans displayed a populist streak, favoring help for individuals but not financial institutions. A clear majority said they did not want the government to lend a hand to banks, even if the measures would help limit the depth of a recession.

amazing how everyone's taxes went down about 7 years ago. whoops, no wait, it was only tax breaks for the rich.

did anyone one here watch CNN 's special on the mortgage "crisis"?

did you see the size of most of the homes that were shown?!

then, all of those people discussing the matter at a poker table. one of the people in discussions was none other than slightly left of center, Paul Krugman.

The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults was conducted from March 28 to April 2. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points.

WOW, you mean to tell me that 1,368 people out there still have telephones that haven't been disconnected?!

[Tigermike 3,661]

"the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to the survey, which was published on The New York Times' Web site."

So a survey on The New York Times' Web site should be considered accurate and representative of all Americans and you believe that it is?

"The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults was conducted from March 28 to April 2. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points."

Which is the normal sampling error percentage always quoted for all these polls. Even when questions are biased, leading and knowingly unrepresentative.

[RunInRed 18,154]

"the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to the survey, which was published on The New York Times' Web site."

So a survey on The New York Times' Web site should be considered accurate and representative of all Americans and you believe that it is?

"The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults was conducted from March 28 to April 2. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points."

Which is the normal sampling error percentage always quoted for all these polls. Even when questions are biased, leading and knowingly unrepresentative.

This poll has been conducted for almost 20+ years. Was it wrong back in '02 when only 35% felt this way? If nothing else, you can look at the historical results and compare them against each other...highest number since polls inception in the early 90s definitely says something.

Again, this was not some random one time poll.

[Tigermike 3,661]

"the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to the survey, which was published on The New York Times' Web site."

So a survey on The New York Times' Web site should be considered accurate and representative of all Americans and you believe that it is?

"The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults was conducted from March 28 to April 2. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points."

Which is the normal sampling error percentage always quoted for all these polls. Even when questions are biased, leading and knowingly unrepresentative.

This poll has been conducted for almost 20+ years. Was it wrong back in '02 when only 35% felt this way? If nothing else, you can look at the historical results and compare them against each other...highest number since polls inception in the early 90s definitely says something.

Again, this was not some random one time poll.

Just because the poll has been conducted for 20+ years in no way means that it is accurate or that there are no flaws in the sampling. "The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults,," Are they calling the same demographics for the entire time period? Are they calling the same areas for the entire 20 years? There are way too many variables to think this poll is representative for the entire United States. You could do a telephone survey of 1,368 adults in different parts of Birmingham and get completely opposite results. You could also do a telephone survey of 1,368 adults in Detroit and get completely opposite results and skew the poll in the direction you wanted. There are biases inherent in all polls. Those biases have to be identified and dealt with.

[RunInRed 18,154]

"the United States is headed in the wrong direction, according to the survey, which was published on The New York Times' Web site."

So a survey on The New York Times' Web site should be considered accurate and representative of all Americans and you believe that it is?

"The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults was conducted from March 28 to April 2. The margin of sampling error was plus or minus 3 percentage points."

Which is the normal sampling error percentage always quoted for all these polls. Even when questions are biased, leading and knowingly unrepresentative.

This poll has been conducted for almost 20+ years. Was it wrong back in '02 when only 35% felt this way? If nothing else, you can look at the historical results and compare them against each other...highest number since polls inception in the early 90s definitely says something.

Again, this was not some random one time poll.

Just because the poll has been conducted for 20+ years in no way means that it is accurate or that there are no flaws in the sampling. "The nationwide telephone survey of 1,368 adults,," Are they calling the same demographics for the entire time period? Are they calling the same areas for the entire 20 years? There are way too many variables to think this poll is representative for the entire United States. You could do a telephone survey of 1,368 adults in different parts of Birmingham and get completely opposite results. You could also do a telephone survey of 1,368 adults in Detroit and get completely opposite results and skew the poll in the direction you wanted. There are biases inherent in all polls. Those biases have to be identified and dealt with.

This is how most national polls are conducted.