What About That Stimulus?

A Non-stimulating Stimulus?

07/22/2009

President Obama has been in office for six months, and many polls ask Americans to evaluate him at this juncture. A July CBS News poll shows that 48 percent of respondents approve of Obama’s handling of the economy, which is lower than the percentage of respondents that approved in April (61 percent) and June (57 percent).

When asked what kind of impact the economic stimulus has had on the economy so far, 21 percent of those polled say it has made the economy better, 15 percent of respondents think that it has made things worse, and 60 percent of respondents say the stimulus has had no impact. Those surveyed are more optimistic about the stimulus’s long-term impact; 42 percent of respondents expect the stimulus to improve the economy in the long run, 21 percent of respondents believe it will make it worse, and 29 percent say that the stimulus will ultimately have no impact.