Fewer than 50 percent of Americans say they are satisfied with the way things are going in the country in general: forty-six percent say they are satisfied, vs. 46 percent who say they are dissatisfied. More than three-quarters of Americans say the U.S. economy is in poor (30 percent) or fair shape (48 percent). Just 20 percent think the economy is in good shape. And more than half of Americans say economic conditions in the country will be the same (37 percent) or worse (15 percent) a year from now, though 45 percent think the economy will improve.
The plurality of those polled, 44 percent, say they won’t be able to afford to retire as early as they’d hoped-up nine percent from the NEWSWEEK poll one week ago-while 41 percent say their planned age for retirement has not been affected. Forty percent of Americans now say they don’t think they’ll be able to afford to live the kind of lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed, an increase from the 34 percent who said they felt that way a week ago. Fifty-six percent think their lifestyle won’t change. And more than a third (35 percent) say they feel less secure about their job or their spouse’s job, up slightly from a week ago, while a slim 51-percent majority do not.
After a particularly rocky week on Wall Street, despite assurances by President Bush and Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan of a fundamentally sound economy, most Americans don’t see the stock market improving much in the near future. Just five percent of those polled believe the market will go up “a lot” in the next 12 months, while 38 percent of those polled say the market is likely to be “up some.” About one-quarter of those polled (26 percent) say it will stay the same, and about the same amount say it will go down some (17 percent) or a lot (seven percent).
Americans are split on who they trust most to handle the economy and the instability in the stock market, with 39 percent placing most of their faith in President Bush and an equal number looking to Congressional Democrats. The plurality put more faith in Democrats in Congress (42 percent) to deal with accounting fraud and corporate wrongdoing than they do in the President, though 36 percent are more confident in the Bush Administration’s abilities.
Slightly more Americans approve of the way Bush has responded to the recent business scandals like Enron, WorldCom, and Tyco, than disapprove. Forty-six percent say they support his response thus far, and 39 percent say they disapprove of the way Bush has responded to the corporate crises. Not surprisingly, among Republicans, more than two-thirds (69 percent) approved of his response while just 17 percent did not (the remainder don’t know). Among Democrats, a 58-percent majority disapprove of his response, while 30 percent approve.
Bush’s numbers are stronger on issues related to foreign policy. A strong majority of 62 percent put their trust in the president to deal with terrorist threats at home and abroad (versus just 20 percent looking to Congressional Democrats). And slightly more (44 percent) trust the Bush Administration over the Congressional Democrats (39 percent) in dealing with national problems in general that “most affect” people like them.
Half of Americans say that Bush’s and Vice President Dick Cheney’s past business experience and connections makes them better able to deal with the scandals, but 42 percent say their business backgrounds make them less likely to propose and support the kinds of policies needed to deal with the scandals. Eight percent aren’t sure.
Nearly half (49 percent) of Americans feel Bush took advantage of the system for personal financial gain when he made his Harken Energy stock transactions, though a slim majority (52 percent) believe he acted within the rules at that time-and they are evenly divided on whether Bush is intentionally covering up information about his stock transactions that could be damaging to his reputation. And respondents were also split on whether Bush is knowingly covering up information to protect his reputation: 42 percent say he is, the same percentage say he is not, and 16 percent don’t know.
However, nearly half of respondents (47 percent) think Cheney is knowingly covering up information about what happened at Halliburton Corporation (where he once served as chief executive) that could be damaging to his reputation. Thirty percent say he’s not, and 23 percent don’t know. And half of Americans polled say Halliburton executives took advantage of the system for personal financial gain. Another 21 percent say they did not, and 29 percent aren’t sure. They are split on whether Cheney or other Halliburton executives broke corporate finance rules in place at the time: 36 percent say they did, 34 percent say they acted within the rules, and another 30 percent don’t know.
