New Poll Finds Most Americans Think U.S. on 'Wrong Track'
A new poll conducted by Reuters/lpsos shows that most Americans fear that the United States is heading on the “wrong track.”
The poll, which surveyed 1,055 adults across the country, finds that an overwhelming 73 percent of Americans believe the U.S. is on the “wrong track.”
Commentators have reported that the poll is reflecting growing anxiety about the economy and a dissatisfaction with the manner in which the government default was narrowly avoided.
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The company also argues that the poll reflects the highest level of discontent since it began taking American public opinion polls in 2009.
Moreover, nearly 50 percent of people polled believed that the worst is yet to come with the economy.
Julia Clark of the Ipsos polling group told Reuters that the poll “reflected a general sense of unease.”
Some of that unease was directed at the Republican-centered Tea Party movement, as 49 percent of respondents held a negative view of the Republican party.
However, the Democratic Party did not fare much better as 40 percent of respondents held a negative view of them as well.
Meanwhile, another poll recently conducted by McClatchy/Marist also suggests the same pessimism following the debt deal debacle and credit downgrade within the American public.
The McClatchy/Marist poll found that 70 percent of respondents believe that America is “on the wrong track,” and 77 percent of respondents felt less confident in the U.S. government following the debt ceiling debacle.
When asked what they believed Congress should do to cut U.S. debt, 68 percent of respondents supported increasing taxes for those that are in the $250,000-earning bracket.
Most people in the McClatchy/Marist poll, 83 percent, did not agree with cutting social spending such as Medicare and Social Security.
President Obama attempted to curb the nation’s fears on Monday during his speech about the economy and the recent U.S. credit score downgrade.
Obama said, “Markets will rise and fall, but this is the United States of America. No matter what some agency may say we’ve always been and always will be a triple-A country.”
However, it seems as though people are not buying into Obama’s optimism about the economy as stocks continue to plummet, and uncertainty remains widespread.
Courtney Mohack of San Antonio Texas told CBS news, “I definitely don’t think the country is going in the right direction. I just don’t like what’s happening in the past couple of years. He (President Obama) promised change and there hasn’t been any change. I think I am ready for new leadership.”
