40% Think Economy Is In "Permanent Decline"

Politico reports:

Nearly 4 in 10 Americans say they think the economy is in permanent decline, a new polls shows as deep pessimism about the economy becomes more widespread.

Thirty-nine percent of those surveyed for a New York Times/CBS News poll released late Wednesday say they see the economy headed on a downward path - significantly worse than when the question was last asked in October and 28 percent of Americans said the economy was in permanent decline.

At the same time, fewer Americans see the economy as having the potential to eventually recover, with 57 percent of those surveyed saying they think things will, in time, be better. That’s down from 68 percent in October.

As the economy continues to sputter in the eyes of many Americans, President Barack Obama’s approval rating is at 47 percent and his disapproval is at 44 percent. In May, surging in the aftermath of the killing of Osama bin Laden, Obama’s approval rating in the same poll was 57 percent and his disapproval was 37 percent.

But Obama isn’t seen as most responsible for the bad economy, with just eight percent of Americans saying his administration is most to blame. Of those surveyed, 26 percent still say the Bush administration is most to blame for the economy, down slightly from 28 percent in March 2010. Nearly the same percentage of those surveyed – 25 percent – say that Wall Street is most to blame, while 11 percent point to Congress.

Shorter-term views of the U.S. economy are even more pessimistic, with just 20 percent of those surveyed saying the economy is getting better, while 31 percent see it getting worse. Just under half of all Americans say the condition of the economy is staying the same. Views of the direction in which the economy is headed were last this bad nearly a year ago in August, when 20 percent of Americans said it was getting better and 34 percent saw it getting worse.

Overall, 81 percent of Americans think the economy is in bad shape, while 18 percent say it is in good shape.

The poll was conducted June 24-28 and surveyed 979 adults. The error margin is plus or minus three percentage points.