Two-Thirds Of Americans Expect Double Dip Recession

Two-thirds of American expect a double-dip recession. A number of experts have observed that economists who have called an end to the recession are out of step with the public. The average American lives in a world in which someone he knows has lost a job, he needs to work longer hours to keep his, the value of his mortgage is more than the value of his house, and he is still saddled with more consumer credit than he can easily handle.

Research firm StrategyOne reports that “Almost two in three Americans (65%) say a double-dip recession — defined as a recession followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession — is now likely to happen.  Among those who expect a double-dip recession, nearly half (44%) fear it will be worse than the first one, with 21% worried it will be “much more severe.” Just 24% think the second recession will be less severe.

The concern, therefore, about the economy is not just widespread, it is profound. Half of all Americans polled (50%) see a recovery not coming until sometime after the end of 2011, and about a quarter (23%) doubt our economy will ever fully recover.  And, Americans have come to the point where they have begun to have the very un-American thought that the nation’s future is not likely be be better than its past. “The country is split on whether America’s best days lie ahead of us or behind. A slim majority, 52%, say they are ahead of us, while 48% say they are behind us.”

The data raises the related issue of whether the American government is best off to begin another huge stimulus package in the hope that it can pull the nation back to its feet. The temptation that many Americans face is the austerity is the best path to a balanced budget, and a lower national debt. Many citizens fear that federal government over-spending now will cause a future of high taxes and the tearing of the social safety net which includes Medicare and Social Security.

It would be hard to identify a period when American felt worse.

The findings come from a recently conducted survey of 1,043 Americans.

Douglas A. McIntyre