90% of Americans say economy stinks

[n2doc]

CNNMoney
6:35 a.m. CDT, September 30, 2011

Three years after a financial crisis pushed the country deep into recession, an overwhelming number of Americans -- 90 percent -- say that economic conditions remain poor.

The number, reported Friday in a new CNN/ORC International Poll, is the highest of Barack Obama's presidency and a significant increase from the 81 percent who said conditions were poor in June.

The persistent pessimism indicates that Americans are feeling a level of hardship in line with the official statistics. Unemployment stands at 9.1 percent, economic growth is barely above stall speed, and the housing market remains tied in knots.

For a White House now fully engaged in re-election efforts, there is one shred of good news: More than two and half years after inauguration day, Americans are still more likely to blame former President George W. Bush for current economic conditions.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-poll-90-of-americans-say-economy-stinks-20110930,0,1354105.story

[hobbit709]

1. That's because the average American is more aware of the real world

than all the DC spinmeisters of both parties.

[FBaggins]

2. Well... I guess we now know what percentage of americans consume mind-altering drugs

10%

[n2doc]

3. There are the 1%'ers

The rich have been doing great in this depression. If you have lots of money, well, labor is cheap, housing/land is cheap, politicians are bought cheaply. Good times for them.

[Doctor_J]

4. This would be useful if the 90% actually had some say in how the country is run

But since the 10% who think things are great also run it, I expect little change.

[RKP5637]

6. Yeah, same here. Will be business as usual. We just go through the exercise of

being a democracy, but in reality, 10% control it, the rest are indentured ...

[doc03]

5. That may be but I notice restaurants are packed

every weekend especially the more expensive ones. In this area car sales are going strong and a friend of mine that works at a sporting goods store can't believe the guns they are selling. I suppose the car and guns sales are up mainly because of the Marcellus and Utica shale leases. But it
still seems like the majority of the people are doing extremely well considering the unemployment rate..

[TBF]

7. "the majority of the people are doing extremely well considering the unemployment rate"

Define "extremely well".

Your little BS stories aside, the facts support a different tale:

Census finds record gap between rich and poor
Income ratio of 14.5-to-1 nearly doubles 1968's low of 7.69
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press

The income gap between the richest and poorest Americans grew last year to its widest amount on record as young adults and children in particular struggled to stay afloat in the recession.

The top-earning 20 percent of Americans -- those making more than $100,000 each year -- received 49.4 percent of all income generated in the U.S., compared with the 3.4 percent earned by those below the poverty line, according to newly released census figures. That ratio of 14.5-to-1 was an increase from 13.6 in 2008 and nearly double a low of 7.69 in 1968.

A different measure, the international Gini index, found U.S. income inequality at its highest level since the Census Bureau began tracking household income in 1967. The U.S. also has the greatest disparity among Western industrialized nations.

At the top, the wealthiest 5 percent of Americans, who earn more than $180,000, added slightly to their annual incomes last year, census data show. Families at the $50,000 median level slipped lower.

"Income inequality is rising, and if we took into account tax data, it would be even more," said Timothy Smeeding, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor who specializes in poverty. "More than other countries, we have a very unequal income distribution where compensation goes to the top in a winner-takes-all economy."

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2010/09/28/us_census_recession_s_impact_1

[doc03]

9. They aren't BS stories it's just an observation. I know the

unemployment is high and there are a lot of people hurting, but never the less most people seem to be doing quite well. This is Appalachia so it is not any kind of pocket of prosperity here either. I went to Amish country in Ohio yesterday and the restaurants and shops were as busy as I have ever seen them.

[Cirque du So-What]

11. I was in Ohio last month

and visited the upscale Easton Mall near Columbus. The parking lot was chock-a-block with Lexuses (Lexi?), BMWs & Mercedeses, and you couldn't stir the people with a stick.

[TBF]

12. That's exactly what I would expect to see in the country's upscale

malls. Galleria here in Houston is no exception.

US Population today: 312,330,062

So 3 million of those folks are doing ok or better - they are shopping in upscale malls in major cities. What about everyone else?

[Cirque du So-What]

13. Everybody else?

Not so much. If not for company business, I wouldn't have set foot near that overpriced playground for the rich. As it was, I was being treated to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, which I consider an exorbitant luxury. It's the type of place where my wife and I may go, maybe, twice a year...if it's a good year, that is.

[doc03]

10. Me and a couple other retireess meet at Starbucks for a

regular $1.50 coffee most evenings and there is a steady stream of customers inside and the drive-thru buying $5 fancy drinks that I can't afford to buy every day. They sure get the money someplace.

[salinen]

8. There are always

pockets of prosperity. When you leave Shangra-la, you'll see something different.

[Doctor_J]

14. Restaurant business is not a good indicator

In dire times people sometimes substitute trips to TGIF's for vacations, because they cannot afford vacations.