For Immediate Release:
January 23 2012

Media Contact:
Kate Pomeroy (703) 927-7111
Victoria Coley (443) 758-6077
Press@thepublicnotice.org     

NEW POLL: AMERICANS DOUBTFUL SOTU WILL REVEAL NEW SOLUTIONS

Majority Of Voters Believe Government Spending Hurts Economic Growth

Arlington, VA – Just one day before President Obama will deliver his third State of the Union Address, a new poll sponsored by Public Notice and conducted by The Tarrance Group, reveals that the majority of voters believe the President’s focus should be on the economy and government spending.

Gretchen Hamel, Executive Director of Public Notice, stated the following:

“Americans are very frustrated.  They are equally as pessimistic.  And they know that government isn’t going to solve the country’s problems, in fact, 56 % think our government is making things worse.  What can government do?  A clear majority want their Member of Congress to compromise in order to get more done.

“Policymakers should take these findings seriously and recognize that Americans want real leadership coming out of Washington, which means less government regulations and fiscal restraint as opposed to the partisan rancor which has led us to this point and negatively impacted the nation’s economy.”

Key Findings:

To view the complete poll, click here.

- Voters want Washington to focus on the economy and government spending. When given a list of potential topics, 23 percent of respondents said they want President Obama to focus on jobs in his State of the Union address Tuesday. Twenty percent said they want the president to focus on the economy in general while 14 percent said he should focus on government spending.

- Voters see a connection between government spending and the economy. And it is not a positive connection. Fifty-fix percent of voters believe the federal government hurts the economy. Only 34 percent believe it helps. Furthermore, 66 percent of voters said the economy is extremely/very impacted by the federal debt.

- Voters want less government intervention. Only 21 percent of voters said businesses need more federal government regulation. Nearly half – 46 percent – say regulations on businesses should be reduced while 27 percent said  the level should stay the same.

- Americans are divided on the future of the country. Forty-three percent of voters believe the next generation will achieve the American dream. Slightly more – 44 percent – believe it will not. In the near term, 66 percent of voters said the country is on the wrong track; 28 percent said it is one the right track.

- Americans don’t want partisanship. Fifty-nine percent of voters said they would prefer that their Member of Congress compromise so that more things will get done in Washington.

This survey was conducted January 15-19, 2012 and the results noted above are from 805 registered “likely” voters across the country. In 95 out of 100 cases, the margin of error on a sample of this type is +/- 3.5%.

Public Notice is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization dedicated to providing the facts and insights on the effects public policy has on Americans’ financial well being.

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