Poll: Jobless Concerns Highest In 12 Years

CBS News/N.Y. Times Survey Shows That More Than One In Three Now Very Concerned About Job Loss In The Next Year

(CBS)  Thirty-five percent of Americans are now “very concerned” that they or someone else in their household will be out of work and looking for a job within the next twelve months, a new CBS News/New York Times poll shows.

That percentage represents a 12 point increase since last week. Concerns about unemployment are now higher than at any point since March 1996.

Just 29 percent of Americans say they have enough income to save and buy extras, a drop of 8 points from last month. Roughly half say they have just enough income to pay the bills, while 20 percent say they do not have enough to pay their bills.

Roughly one in two Americans say they feel somewhat secure about their financial future, and one in five say they feel very secure. But nearly one in three say they feel not very or not at all secure.

More than half say they U.S. economy is in “very bad” shape, and an additional 35 percent say it is fairly bad shape. Only 13 percent of Americans say the economy is even somewhat good.

There are signs of increased optimism, however. While 57 percent believe the economy is getting worse, that’s down 10 points from last week and 19 points from the beginning of the month. 11 percent now believe the economy is improving, up 6 points from last week.

Americans continue to disapprove of the $700 billion bailout bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law by President George W. Bush.

Fifty-three percent now disapprove of the bill, about the same percentage that disapproved when it was first proposed. Disapproval cuts across party identification, political ideology, age, income, and level of education.

Thirty-two percent approve of the bill.

Americans also disapprove of the recent government takeover of some of the country’s largest banks in an effort to encourage lending, though by a smaller margin. Forty-eight percent disapprove of the partial government takeover, while 39 percent approve.

Still, many Americans believe the government’s efforts will help in dealing with the recent economic crisis. Forty-two percent say recent government actions will make the crisis better, while 17 percent say they will make things worse. Thirty-one percent expect government efforts to have no impact.

Roughly sixty percent have at least some confidence that the government can improve the economy. Forty percent have little to no confidence in the government to do so.

Eighty-five percent of Americans say the country is on the wrong track, four points below the all time high of 89 percent reached last week. Only about one in ten thinks the country is headed in the right direction.

Congressional job approval remains extremely low - 17 percent - though it is up slightly from last week.

Job approval for President Bush has not improved. Just 22 percent of Americans approve of the way he is handling his job, matching the all-time low he first reached in September.

Mr. Bush’s approval rating equals the lowest ever achieved by a sitting president, and is matched only by President Truman in 1952. His 72 percent disapproval rating is a new high that has never been equaled.

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This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,152 adults nationwide, including 1,046 registered voters, interviewed by telephone October 19-22, 2008. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample and the sample of registered voters could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.

[zedtransf0rm]

smclimans and guysdigdirt...

tipping waiters and servers - why do we tip? Most of these guys are just doing their job. Lots of people don''t get a tip for the job they do. Surely the cost of service is built into the price one pays? Otherwise, if the server is not being paid, then the owner of the establishment is practicing deceptive pricing and the servers are accepting less than lawful rates of pay.

[skysoldier75]

@ guysdigdirt:

Your little analogies are cute, but ignorant.

The simple fact of the matter is that when Republican policies end up bankrupting the American middle class, then the next group to find itself bankrupt will be the rich and the corporations, who depend on that middle class as customers, employees and stockholders.

We can all see it happening quite clearly, all around us, right now: businesses failing in droves; more and more of them closing their doors every day, or struggling hard just to keep them open. The wealthy are watching their accumulated "assets" rapidly become worthless, or worth a mere fraction of what they were originally worth, all because of decades of Republican mismanagement.

The rich are quick to take advantage of all the things this great country offers that help one get ahead, but once they begin to do well because of our generous political system, then they get greedy and selfish, and forget that if they don''t reinvest their gains back into the system it won''t be around for much longer.

What you and your fellow Republicans actually teach and value is simple greed and selfishness. You just cannot deny that.

The middle class is the real "backbone" of America, and you should know by now that when you break our nation''s back it''s going to negatively impact all the other parts of the body quite severely as well.

Greed and selfishness have never gotten America as a whole anywhere.

[jesuit12]

Section 1076 of the John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007 changed the name of the key provision in the statute book from "Insurrection Act" to "Enforcement of the Laws to Restore Public Order Act." The Insurrection Act of 1807 stated that the president could deploy troops within the United States only "to suppress, in a State, any insurrection, domestic violence, unlawful combination, or conspiracy." The new law expands the list to include %u201Cnatural disaster, epidemic, or other serious public health emergency, terrorist attack or incident, or other condition" -- and such "condition" is not defined or limited. . . . "Martial law" is a euphemism for military dictatorship. When foreign democracies are overthrown and a junta establishes martial law, Americans usually recognize that a fundamental change has occurred. . . . Section 1076 is Enabling Act-type legislation%u2014something that purports to preserve law-and-order while formally empowering the president to rule by decree.

[jesuit12]

Geo Bush has been training troops for this already. ... was on CNN tonight. The thought now is because of the probability of a economic depression caused by market control and an Obama forced socialist government. A military coup not thought of years ago is a reality and with troops non-supportive of Obama will force him from power and have to provide order through radical govt force.

[guysdigdirt]

My liberal daughter came home from Berkley last weekend. I asked her how her grades were, she replied she had really been focusing and her grades were excellent. Her social life suffered though, no dates, no parties, no football games even.

I asked how her roomate Jessica was doing. Jessica is loving life, parties almost every night, never misses a date or a football game and never seems to be at hime or the library. Her grades stick, she may flunk out.

I told my daughter she should give some of her A''s to Jessica. My daughter blew up, she had " earned those grades with all her sacrifice and hard work" and did not feel she should have to give them to the fun loving, never working Jessica.

I welcomed her to the conservative side.

[guysdigdirt]

Today on my way to lunch, I passed a homeless guy sitting
on the sidewalk with the extra advertisement
"Vote Obama, I need the money".
I laughed.

In the restaurant,
the waiter had an Obama ''''08 button with his Obama necktie.
Again I laughed.

When the $12 lunch bill came, I explained to the waiter
that I was testing the Obama wealth redistribution concept.
He stood there, dumbstruck and mad, as I told him I would be
giving his tip to the homeless guy outside who needed it more.
The waiter trotted off seething, while the homeless guy
was thrilled that he receieved money he didnt EARN!

Just a short lesson in Obama socialist economics.
Great story, huh? (and true) just happened
Try it yourself in the next few days!

LOLOLOL....
Posted by smclimans

Great post.

[guysdigdirt]

WALL STREET, AMERICAN INSURANCE GROUP, AND FANNIE MAE AND MAC DID NOT EARN THEIR MONEY EITHER BUT GUESS WHAT...THEY ARE NOW PART OF BUSH''''S SOCIALIST POLICIES.
Posted by patsy_owens

Get educated patsy...
Clinton set Fannie and Freddie up to fail, dont believe me? Read the article from the New York Post dated 9-30-99.
The title of this article states the jobless outlook is worst in 12 years... that would mean the last time it was worse than this was in the middle of the Clinton years.

Blame it on Bush... loser.

[smclimans]

Today on my way to lunch, I passed a homeless guy sitting
on the sidewalk with the extra advertisement
"Vote Obama, I need the money".
I laughed.

In the restaurant,
the waiter had an Obama ''08 button with his Obama necktie.
Again I laughed.

When the $12 lunch bill came, I explained to the waiter
that I was testing the Obama wealth redistribution concept.
He stood there, dumbstruck and mad, as I told him I would be
giving his tip to the homeless guy outside who needed it more.
The waiter trotted off seething, while the homeless guy
was thrilled that he receieved money he didnt EARN!

Just a short lesson in Obama socialist economics.
Great story, huh? (and true) just happened
Try it yourself in the next few days!

LOLOLOL....

[hologram5]

returning the Bush boom back to the middle class.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by paidGOPshill at 08:44 AM : Oct 24, 2008
There never was a boom during Bushco''s regime. We have been teetering for 8 years and finally fell over the edge. All this patriot act and stealing of civil liberties are going to come back and bite the GOP very hard and it isn''t going to be pretty. Read some of the executive orders he has signed, you will be disgusted with the rights that have been "usurped".

[palin08o8]

You know what I changed my mind about Obama! I think he will be better for national security and the economy!

Plus sarah palin $150,000.00 on clothes, most Americans could have bought a home for that amount!

Besides I think Sarah Palin is really a Terrorist

Breaking News: The Terrorist Group AKA Alaska Independent party Calling on Russia to help secede from the Union
www.chilitoz.com
Extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll former leaders of the Alaska Terrorist group AKA Independence Party and friends of Sarah Palin are calling on Russia to help them gain independence from the United States.

Watch video of Sarah palin addressing The Alaska Terrorist Group also known as The Independence party. They are calling for a civil war against the mainland.
www.chilitoz.com

[rickwar]

But---

"Joe the deadbeat plumber" will hire you when he buys his company, tells you don''t worry about taxes and don''t pay that hospital bill.

John and Sarah will stand right behind you with the stripped bankruptcy laws that Johnny helpe pass and Sarah, "I run for clothes" saying "Now this is the real America"

They''ll bailout and assist their oil buddies and let a little something "Trickle Down"

[tincup356]

who do we have to thank for our problems, both parties .they have failed the people of this country, and what is even worse , party line voters will go to the polls again and re elect these same people again, WHY? they don''t deserve to be re elected, NONE OF THEM.Some people are so blinded they say a vote outside the two parties is wasted, I say a vote for either party is wasted.wasted in the sense its your vote and for it you will get NO representation, NONE .People will argue we need the experience that third parties dont have,B.S. the only experience we have gotten from the career idiots in office is repeatedly bad.they have become experienced con artists whom are solely responsible for all our problems.I am going to vote third party and against incumbent where there is a choice.After the smoke settles and the next bunch rises to power and things don''t change as was promised, and the bailout fails, don''t point a finger at the other party , point it at yourself for trusting the same criminals who sold you out in the first place.Party line voters should be issued "idiot tattoos " when they pull the straight party switch. Shame on anyone giving any support to these people who are to blame.

[fr0mtexwlove]

I am outraged!!!!!!!!!!

All that money spent on moose clothes!

$150,000.00 Could have fed thousands of families!


Just burn the moose dud smelling clothes! Charity my behind!!!!

You know what i changed my mind about Obama! I think he will be better for national security and the economy!

Besides I think Sarah Palin is really a Terrorist

Breaking News: The Terrorist Group AKA Alaska Independent party Calling on Russia to help secede from the Union
www.chilitoz.com
Extremists Mark Chryson and Steve Stoll former leaders of the Alaska Terrorist group AKA Independence Party and friends of Sarah Palin are calling on Russia to help them gain independence from the United States.

Watch video of Sarah palin addressing The Alaska Terrorist Group also known as The Independence party. They are calling for a civil war against the mainland.
www.chilitoz.com

[tannerbird]

with McCain it will be the highest in 40 years if anyone has a job.

[noloyalisti]

That''''s exactly how Chavez and Hilter can into power.Obama''''s ideas are Marxist.

Posted by gotravel1

You are really a blathering fool. First of all you are mixing up right wing fascists like Hitler and the GOP with Chavez, who is a leftist. Anything that the government does for the people is socialist or communist to you right wing nuts. Keep up the good work making a fool of yourself for everyone here to see.

[gotravel1]

Who''s pushing all these stories of gloom and doom;it''s the Soros owned media who want to destroy America''s economy.I was out today,and the parking lots at restaurants and malls were full,houses are under construction,the roadways are busy at rush hour.My husband lost his job when U.S.Steel went out of business due to Clinton''s policies,but Pittsburgh has recovered nicely.Instead of focusing solely on the economy,which will recover, look at the whole picture.John McCain spent 5 years as a POW fighting for America,and Barack Obama has a circle of friends who hate America.Google Obama and his friends Odinga,Ayers,Wright,Khalid al-Mansour and wake up to the fact that we have much more to be concerned about besides the economy.You are playing into his hands if you ignor the obvious and follow his hollow mantra of "Hope and Change".That''s exactly how Chavez and Hilter can into power.Obama''s ideas are Marxist.

[lastdance128]

The NAZI Fascist Bush Crime Regime
Can not Get it Through Their Heads

They Have Been - EXPOSED - For WHO they Really Are and
WHAT they Really Are ! ! !

EMISSARIES of That -
That is :

DESTROYER - of - WORLDS

The Endorsement of Each John McCain Supporter
A Repeat of The NAZI Fascist Bush Crime Regime
Accomplishments of :

JOB DESTROYERS __ WAGE PACKAGE DESTROYERS
WORKING MIDDLE CLASS AMERICA DESTROYERS
FAMILY UNIT DESTROYERS __ HOME OWNERSHIP DESTROYERS
ECONOMY DESTROYERS __ CREDIT DESTROYERS
DEMOCRACY DESTROYERS __ BANK DESTROYERS
INVESTMENT DESTROYERS __
UNITED STATES INDEPENDENCE SOVEREIGNTY DESTROYERS

ECONOMIC STRIFE That is Being used as a Weapon to :
ELIMINATE a DEMOCRACY and REPLACE IT With :
The Totalitarian Dictatorship of : A NAZI FASCIST RULE
Against : The Populace of the United States

Any Corporation or POLITICAL INFLUENCE __ That has Supported and Assisted in :
The Achievement of : PURPOSELY and INTENTIONALLY
DESTROYING : The DEMOCRATIC INFRASTRUCTURE and
The ECONOMIC INFRASTRUCTURE of The United States is an :
Act of TREASON

The Endorsement of Each John McCain Supporter