American Pulse™: Majority Say Stimulus
Package Not
Working, Will Feel Better When Unemployment Drops
7 in 10 Brace Themselves for Tax Increases to Support Proposed Legislation
COLUMBUS, OH
– (MARKET WIRE) – 10/8/09 – 55.6% of Americans say the economic stimulus package
is not working, according to the latest American Pulse Survey of 5,024
Americans. Further, the failing economy is seen as the number one threat to
American’s rights as citizens (28.5% say so), above proposed healthcare reform
(15%), Social Security running out of money (14.7%) and even terrorism (11.3%).
It appears that most are watching the unemployment levels to signal the end of
the recession, a sentiment echoed across all political parties. Americans,
however, aren’t as likely to view a declaration by either Ben Bernanke or
President Obama as a sign that the recession is over.
What sign
do you believe will best demonstrate to you that the recession is over?
Adults 18+ Republicans Democrats Independents
The Federal Reserve Chairman,
3.5% 4.0% 4.6% 2.4%
Ben Bernanke, declares it over
Wall Street stock indexes 8.9% 10.5% 8.6% 7.3%
show it’s over
Unemployment levels decline 72.1% 74.7% 72.9%
74.1%
President Obama says it’s over 4.7% 1.8% 6.4% 4.7%
Other 10.7% 9.0% 7.5%
11.5%
Source: BIGresearch, American Pulse – Oct 09
Worries about whether Social Security will be there when they retire and
potential tax increases are also weighing on the minds of weary consumers.
Almost half (46.5%) of those who qualify believe Social Security will not be
there for them when they retire, 16.5% say it will be and 37% aren’t sure. 68.6%
think they will see tax hikes in the next 3 years to pay for proposed
legislation such as healthcare reform and Cap and Trade, 11.5% say taxes will
not increase and 19.9% don’t know.
On the international front, 28.4% of Americans believe directly targeting al-Qaida
fighters is the right strategy for Afghanistan, 23.1% say pull troops out
completely and 18.4% say send in thousands more. Meanwhile, the dialogue between
the U.S. and Iran in Geneva did not lessen concerns about Iran’s nuclear
capabilities for 66% of Americans, 12.9% say it did (21.1% weren’t concerned
prior to the talks). 72.2% believe it is not very/not at all likely that Iran
will suspend their uranium enrichment program.
For the full
complimentary report (segments include age, income, gender and political party):
http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.
About American
Pulse™
The American
Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every
month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International’s (SSI) U.S. panel
covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000
respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really
feel about issues they currently face. The use of the Artafact online blog as a
listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse
survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative
research.
http://www.bigresearch.com
About Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of
sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million
consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via
Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom
profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting,
and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients,
including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in
1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and
36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices
worldwide.
http://www.surveysampling.com
Contacts:
BIGresearch
SSI
Chrissy Wissinger
Diane Urso
chrissy@bigresearch.com
diane_urso@SurveySampling.com
614.846.0146
203.567.7236