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Obama's approval rating on economy at all-time low
By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
September 2nd, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
September 2nd, 2011
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)
The struggling U.S. economy has hurt Obama in his recent job approval
ratings. While his overall approval remained near the lowest level of
his presidency at about 40 percent, Obama was rated even lower on
economic issues. According to a CNN poll, only 34 percent of Americans
approve of the way Obama is handling the economy.
American unemployment rate remained high at 9.1 percent in August, with no net jobs being added across the country.
Analysts point out that the U.S. is technically - not in a recession. Such a condition is defined as two straight quarters of negative growth, and the economic recovery is too sluggish to make a difference.
According to the Commerce Department, the U.S. economy grew only one percent in the second quarter following an even weaker growth of 0.4 percent in the first.
The president is scheduled to make a speech next week about job creation. He is expected to lay out an economic plan to shore up job creation and economic growth during a joint session of Congress.
The new survey showed that about two-thirds of all Americans think the president should focus more on creating jobs right now, even if it means less deficit reduction. This is split along party lines. Almost half of Republicans surveyed say deficit reduction is just as important as creating more jobs, while 83 percent of Democrats want the president to focus more on job growth. Two-thirds of independents say the same.
Weak expansion and bloated unemployment rates, as well as a debt crisis in Europe and a climate of uncertainty aggravated by partisan gridlock in Washington, have caused a growing number of analysts to issue discouraging projections.
Moody's lowered its growth outlook for the U.S. economy, warning in its report that the odds of a double-dip recession are already one in three -- and that those odds are "rising with each 100-point drop in the Dow," a reference to the market volatility seen last week.
"The near-term economic outlook is significantly weaker than it was just a month ago," Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi wrote in the report.
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