In his Sept. 8 address to Congress calling for the passage of the American Jobs Act, President Obama declared that the millions of Americans who tuned into the speech “don”™t care about politics,” but a new Siena College poll says otherwise.
Nearly two-thirds of the 805 New York residents polled said that government is more of the problem than the solution to the country”™s economic issues, according to the survey, which was released Sept. 7 by the Siena Research Institute.
Don Levy, the institute”™s director, said that the recession and the prolonged recovery has taken a “profound” toll on the overwhelming majority of New Yorkers, and that frustration in the political establishment has become a common sentiment.
“I don”™t think it”™s that people have lost faith in government, but that they have lost faith in this government in Washington,” Levy said. “We have these enormous problems and these problems are not just abstract ”“ they”™re problems that affect every single one of us.”
Levy believes that most Americans probably appreciated the “can-do attitude” that was on display in Obama”™s address, but he said that ultimately the proposals outlined by the president leave more questions than answers.
“The reaction I had is, ”˜You say you”™re going to fix 35,000 schools ”“ that sounds like a lot of money. Where”™s that money going to come from?”™”
A slim majority ”“ 50 percent ”“ of those polled said they feel that the country”™s best economic days are behind it, up from 47 percent who thought so last year and 45 percent in 2009. Just 45 percent answered that they think the current economic mood will improve, down from 49 percent who thought so in the two prior years.
Levy said that the erosion of confidence in the government”™s ability to turn the economy around has served to make the situation even worse for the average New Yorker.
“Consumer confidence and the sentiment of our society is a little bit like a battleship ”“ it doesn”™t turn quickly,” he said. “Despite efforts that are being made by our political leaders, this battleship is not going to turn quickly and that has a ripple effect. That has further slowed the whole economy.”
Any efforts to boost the economy and consumer confidence must be focused at building up the country”™s small businesses, said Andi Gray, president of Strategy Leaders, a business consulting firm in Chappaqua.
“The reality right now is that small businesses are the only sources of job growth in our economy,” she said. “Things like breaks on Social Security taxes, assistance with training and development ”“ these are all tools that can help small businesses.”
Westchester business owners will be waiting to see what results Congress turns out following the president”™s job proposals, said Laurence P. Gottlieb, director of economic development for Westchester County.
“When you hear the president talking about tax cuts and some incentives for small businesses, that”™s a big plus for a large number of businesses here in Westchester,” Gottlieb said. “When he talks about higher taxes for larger corporations, that”™s a big negative. It”™ll be a wait to see what actually passes and what actually trickles down as stimulus for our economy.”
While there is consensus that the government has a major role to play in fixing the economy, any agreement on political issues ends there: 39 percent of the respondents want the health care overhaul to be repealed, while 34 percent do not; and 40 percent of those surveyed think the government should remove regulations on businesses, while 34 percent disagree.
Other highlights of the survey, which asked people how their living situation had changed since 2007, included:
Ӣ 30 percent of the respondents have been laid off;
Ӣ 30 percent have gotten a raise at work;
Ӣ 51 percent have not taken a vacation of longer than one week;
Ӣ 47 percent have given up a pastime or hobby because it was too costly; and
Ӣ 85 percent now pay some or a great deal of attention to news concerning the economy.
