The reaction to recent economic data may be a false positive. Americans largely are dissatisfied with the way that things are going in the U.S. This is despite an apparent upturn in consumer spending and modest improvements in the jobs market. Just below the surface, many people are troubled by the nation’s future prospects.
According to new data from Gallup:
In 2011, an average of 17% of Americans said they were satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S., second only to the record-low 15% in 2008. Americans most often cited the economy, jobs, the deficit, and the job elected officials are doing as the most important problems in 2011.
The last low reading was at the trough of the recession, based on the Gallup numbers.
The numbers do not bode well for consumer activity in 2012. That will be particularly true if tax reductions are removed and long-term unemployment programs are terminated. The economy and jobs are directly related to these issues. The nation’s ability to close its deficit would be threatened if consumer spending shut down again as it did from 2007 to 2009. The unemployed with no benefits can hardly be consumers. People who believe they are overtaxed fall into a similar category, as they see more of their wages go to the government.
The economy, which turned on a dime and fell from 2006 to 2007, may mimic that movement again.
Methodology: Results for this Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews conducted Dec. 15 to 18, 2011, with a random sample of 1,019 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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