Saturday, December 12, 2009

Americans More Pessimistic On Economy, Nation's Direction

A Bloomberg survey shows Americans Grow More Pessimistic on Economy, Nation’s Direction. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid= ... 35PRefGeIc

Americans have grown gloomier about both the economy and the nation’s direction over the past three months even as the U.S. shows signs of moving from recession to recovery.

Almost half the people now feel less financially secure than when President Barack Obama took office in January, a Bloomberg National Poll shows.

Those concerns have put consumers in a miserly mood as they head to the mall for holiday shopping, with half the country planning to spend less on gifts than last year and few buyers willing to run up credit-card debt for Christmas.

The mood among members of Obama’s own Democratic Party has shifted most dramatically: While Democrats remain the most positive, the proportion saying the country is on the right track dropped to 58 percent from 71 percent in September. Among independents, 26 percent say the country is on the right track, down from 29 percent in September.

“The recession may be over, but the administration seems to be losing the battle when it comes to winning the hearts and minds of Americans,â€