Polls & Research

Americans Back Obama’s Economic Management

(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Many adults in the United States are satisfied with the way their federal administration is dealing with the financial crisis, according to a poll by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press. 53 per cent of respondents think the government is on the right track in the way it is handling economic problems, up six points since February.

Since 2007, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the U.S. caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and ultimately pushed the U.S. economy into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems, and triggered layoffs in companies around the world.

Last year, the federal government—then under the leadership of U.S. president George W. Bush—took control of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other financial institutions—including Bear Stearns, Merril Lynch, Lehman Brothers, American International Group (AIG), IndyMac Bancorp and Washington Mutual—have been sold, placed under bankruptcy protection, or received emergency loans from the Federal Reserve.

In December 2008, Bush approved a bail-out plan, which would provide loans of $17.4 billion U.S. to automakers General Motors and Chrysler. Bush stated that, under present economic conditions, "allowing the U.S. auto industry to collapse is not a responsible course of action."

Yesterday, General Motors filed for bankruptcy protection. U.S. president Barack Obama announced that the U.S. government would make an additional investment of about $30 billion U.S. in General Motors, adding, "We’re making these investments not because I want to spend the American people’s tax dollars, but because I want to protect them. (…) We are acting as reluctant shareholders—because that is the only way to help GM succeed."

Polling Data

All in all, do you think the government is on the right track or the wrong track in the way it is handling economic problems facing the nation?

Source: Pew Research Center for the People & the Press
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 American adults, conducted from May 21 to May 24, 2009. Margin of error is 3.5 per cent.