Poll: Americans skeptical about Bush economic program
Wednesday December 18, 2002
LOS ANGELES (AP) Most Americans believe President Bush is
doing a good job, especially in fighting terrorism, but they are
sharply divided over his economic policies and the fallout from tax
cuts, according to a newspaper poll.
Sixty-three percent of those polled approved of Bush's
performance as president and 73 percent liked his handling of the
threat of terrorism.
But only a bare majority, 51 percent, said they approved of the
president's economic management and 43 percent disapproved,
according to a Los Angeles Times Poll released Wednesday.
Many Americans had money worries. Fifty-five percent said they
believe the economy is doing badly, up from 45 percent in a Times
poll taken in August. The share of Americans who felt the economy
is performing ``very badly'' jumped from one in eight to nearly one
in five.
Four in 10 of those polled said they will spend less than usual
this Christmas.
Twenty-two percent felt that the president and his policies were
to blame for the economic problems, while 21 percent blamed
corporate fraud and greed and 13 percent cited the Sept. 11
terrorist attacks.
The figures, however, varied widely along partisan lines.
One-in-three Democrats and one-in-five independents blamed Bush for
economic problems, compared to one-in-50 Republicans.
Forty percent of the respondents said the $1.35-trillion tax cut
that Bush pushed through Congress last year helped the economy
while 26 percent said it has hurt.
Further reductions in income tax rates are scheduled for 2004
and 2006. Nearly half of those polled said speeding up those
reductions would help the economy. Only 19 percent believed it
would hurt.
The response changed drastically when people were asked if
further tax cuts scheduled for 2004 and 2006 should go through if
it meant tapping Social Security funds to pay for other programs.
Seventy-seven percent, including nearly two-thirds of
Republicans, said no.
The nationwide poll of 1,305 adults was made from Dec. 12
through Dec. 15 and had a margin of error of plus of minus 3
percentage points.
(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)