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Americans Mistrust Politicians on Economy
(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Few adults in the United States express trust in their policy makers to address the nation’s current economic problems, according to a poll by Rasmussen Reports. Only 24 per cent of respondents are very or somewhat confident that the politicians know what they are doing.
Since last year, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—in the United States have caused volatility in domestic and global financial markets and raised concerns that the U.S. economy could fall into a recession. A recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The crisis has affected the global financial and credit systems.
On Nov. 21, House speaker Nancy Pelosi discussed the current state of affairs, saying, "Our focus for the first week of the new Congress will be to introduce a strong recovery package to create jobs. (...) I think it can be a step toward improving the financial situation. But we have to do much more."
Polling Data
When it comes to addressing the nation’s current economic problems, how confident are you that U.S. policy makers know what they’re doing?
|
Very confident |
4% |
|
Somewhat confident |
22% |
|
Not very confident |
45% |
|
Not at all confident |
25% |
|
Not sure |
4% |
Source: Rasmussen Reports
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,000 likely American voters, conducted on Nov. 15 and Nov. 16, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.