Poll: Majority Says Economy Has Recovered For Them Personally

[bigtree]

tweeted by, Josh Marshall ‏@joshtpm

Poll: Majority Says Economy Has Recovered For Them Personally http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/poll-majority-says-economy-has-recovered-for-them … via @tomkludt

A majority of Americans said the national economy has recovered based on their own personal experience, according to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll released on Wednesday.

Fifty-three percent said the economy has recovered personally for them, compared with 46 percent who said it has not. Those are nearly identical numbers to the ABC/WaPo poll in December, when 53 percent also said the economy had turned around for them. But it marks a significant reversal from one year ago.

In the March 2012 ABC/WaPo survey, the public was split on the economic recovery: 49 percent said it had improved, but another 49 percent said it had not. Last January, a majority of 54 percent said the economy had not begun to recover.

read more: http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/poll-majority-says-economy-has-recovered-for-them

[LiberalEsto]

1. Not for me

Out of work since late October, 2008. Still looking.

[Puzzledtraveller]

2. I have stable employment, but stagnating pay

The cost of living in general is killing me, food, shelter, transportation, and I'm single. I see how bad it is for families because my job is SNAP and Medicaid so I know it's even worse for them. Many are unemployed, underemployed and underpaid.

[duffyduff]

6. At least most families have at least one working household member

They aren't suffering nearly as badly as people who have no spouse to rely on and must do it on their own and CAN'T get work.

I get very tired of the myth that it is cheaper for a single person to live than a married couple. It's bullshit.

[Puzzledtraveller]

11. I couldn't agree with you more

Single here, and I live well within my means and struggle every month to get bills paid and still eat. There's nothing left. I want to find someone but telling someone upfront that you are on an extremely tigh budget sends them the other way, and I've taken to making that known rather than later when they see someone has more pasture to offer on their side and they head for the door. Sorry, got side tracked but like you, I'm sick of it.

[RebelOne]

16. Agreed here also.

I am single, collect Social Security and live within my means. My expenses are low as I live in a mobile home, my car is paid and I have no credit card bills, just the usual utility, insurance and food costs. I had been doing OK, but this year, it is getting harder to keep my head above water. Every time I go to the grocery, the prices have gone up on everything I usually buy. It's a good thing I am a vegetarian because I could not afford to buy meat anyway.

[bigtree]

3. horrible

. . . one of that sizable 46% represented in this poll (likely invisible in many other surveys).

This is no mere abstraction in a poll for you, though, LiberalEsto.

[madville]

4. Wow, sorry to hear that

What type of work are you looking for, might could offer some ideas.

[LiberalEsto]

12. Thanks for asking! Freelance writing

I was a newspaper reporter for 25 years, then wrote semi-technical marketing content for the natural gas refrigeration and cooling industry. Fortunately my husband, a database administrator, is employed, but there's a chance his employers may lose their federal contract soon.

The problems in my case are multi-fold: 1. There are so many unemployed journalists around these days. Their skills are more up to date, and they're getting the freelance assignments that I used to get a couple of years ago. 2. We're supporting an adult child with mental health issues and as a result there's no money for classes to upgrade my skills 3. I've been severely depressed on and off since my last job faded away. 4. I'm 61.

I'm hoping to take an online class in technical writing soon.

[duffyduff]

5. Not for me, either. Been under- and unemployed since 4/2008.

The fact is the economy hasn't improved for anybody outside of the top one percent.

These "feel good" articles are designed to try and stimulate consumer confidence, and it is not working.

[bigtree]

7. I don't know what's supposed to be 'feel good' about the balance in this poll

46% is a hell of a lot of economy-affected Americans; and, that's not even touching on the depths of that suffering, as many are long-time unemployed with zero prospects in sight for sustaining work.

I sure don't think that TPM has lost sight of that by publishing this poll.

I think that the results of this survey are a snapshot, just like most polls.

[stevenleser]

9. I understand both of your points/feelings on this. I was there in 2004, 3 yrs of un(der)employment

In 2003-2004 there were all of these articles about how the economy had recovered, etc.

They all made me really upset. Until you get to what amounts to "essentially full employment" which I think is around 3.5%-4% unemployment, there are people trying to get jobs who can't and news of a recovery is like rubbing salt into the wounds.

[bigtree]

17. this is also a political matter

. . . and it's useful to the political debate to acknowledge the economic successes, when and where they occur.

If we're going to hold a symposium on the negative effects of the economy, we'd welcome and encourage an exhaustive discussion of the negative consequences and effects on individuals, to the virtual exclusion of anything positive or encouraging in some economic report or survey. This isn't some road sign to take pot shots at. It's a snapshot of where we stand, today.

This economy isn't in some automatic condition. It's being actively aggravated by republican obstinacy and neglect on initiatives which would stimulate the economy to produce that 'full-employment' effect.

I think it's important to show how the policies that our party has advocated and insisted have actually impacted the conditions of Americans. Here's an example. It's really not much of a 'majority,' and it's reported here as an anomaly to surveys as early as last year.

Overall, I'd take this as good news; not so, of course, for those who fall in the negative side of the polling.

[leftynyc]

14. That's not true

I'm sorry you're still in such dire straits but it's simply not true that the economy hasn't improved for anyone outside the 1%. I'm not part of that and while my company didn't give out any raises for 4 years, once the company (along with the economy) started improving, the raises started again.

[Bicoastal]

8. FWIW, I would answer in the affirmative.

In fact, when I compare my quality of life now to the way it was in 2008, there's absolutely no question that things are way better in nearly every respect. And if you knew me personally both then and now, you'd agree.

But I'm not deluded enough to pretend that everyone else has been so lucky.

[oldhippie]

10. I would be in that majority ...

Financially, I personally am much better off than I was in 2008.

[DearHeart]

13. Who are they polling? Half the people I know are out of work for at least a year and a half

some going on three and four years.

Glad some people are doing well. Bernie Sanders said on Thom Hartmann the other day that real unemployment is at about 14.4%...we're not doing better. They're just not telling us.

[olddots]

15. Thats Fred & Betty Majority

from Snooty Beach Florida and Hidden Hills Ca.