Economy & Work

Report Summary Despite an upsurge in consumer confidence, the attention of the American public continues to be focused on the economy. Nearly two out of three Americans (62%) believes that the economy is still either in a recession, or in a depression, while only 34% of the public thinks that an economic recovery has begun.

Report Summary In a period when Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as President of the USSR, when the Soviet Union fragmented and dissolved, and when the Commonwealth of Independent States took its place, stories about the U.S. economy are being followed much more closely by the American people.

Report Summary With the State of the Union Address days away, a majority of the American people (52 percent) want President George Bush to call for a public works program to put the unemployed back to work as their first choice to revitalize the economy. President Bush’s job approval rating continues to drop (46%) as […]

Report Summary Dissatisfaction with the way things are going in the country has now reached pre-Reagan economic recovery levels with over six in ten expressing fundamental discontent with the country’s course. Yet the President’s rating at 55% approve, 33% disapprove is at least as good if not better than that of recent GOP predecessors who […]

Report Summary The focus of the American public’s attention is shifting to the domestic consequences of the Gulf crisis. Although Iraqi occupation of Kuwait and U.S. troop deployment to the Gulf continues to dominate the consciousness of Americans, news about rising gasoline prices drew nearly as much public interest in September. At the same time, […]

Report Summary As the debate about the federal budget rages and the prospect of higher gasoline taxes looms, George Bush’s standing with the public has fallen dramatically. The latest nationwide poll by the Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press finds the President’s approval ratings down 13 percentage points in less than one […]

Report Summary Public perceptions and priorities are changing as the new administration begins its effort to deal with the nation’s economic problems. This new Times Mirror survey identifies five important elements of public opinion that have significant implications for economic policy alternatives. These trends and dispositions emerge from an analysis of the findings of 2000 […]