Chart: Is The Economy Political?
From "Tracking the Recovery," by the Economic Policy Institute. hide caption
It's been called the "the personal, unfair recession," by Ezra Klein, and for good reason. A new survey by the Economic Policy Institute, "Tracking the Recovery" finds that 57 percent of respondents are close to someone who has been laid off. Sixty-one percent say the know someone whose hours or pay has been cut.
I'm struck by the chart above, which shows that people think the Obama administration needs to do more to combat unemployment -- and also that President Obama is the person they trust most to have the right economic policies.
The 2010 midterm Congressional elections may serve as a referendum on the president's handling of the economy. On the other hand, when I look at the chart above, I wonder how strongly people believe the economy is a political issue at all, or at least whether they believe in any politician's ability to get it right.