D.C. Delusions: 60% believe economy OK, Rest of nation says hell no!

D.C. Delusions: 60% believe economy OK
Rest of nation says hell no!

A recent Gallup poll explains why most Americans are dissatisfied with government and Obama’s approval plummets. Surveying samples of employed people across the country reveal that while a cross section of Americans see the economy getting worse; those who run the government, earn their contracts, lobby them or the media that panders to them believe the economy is just fine.

The poll, of “87,634 employed adults, aged 18 and older, conducted from January-June 2011" revealed something that we all probably could’ve guessed all along:

Well, this week, the esteemed pollsters at Gallup made some headlines when, for the first time, President Barack Obama's approval rating dipped below 40 percent. That result underpinned any number of stories that read, "Terrible Economy Presents Problems For Obama." Well, that's undeniably true. But a less remarked-upon bit of polling from Gallup is this bit here, in which they set out to gauge the nation's "economic confidence." What they found was remarkably consistent -- state by state, there are more people lacking in confidence than there are people who feel the economy has turned around.
So once again, the real story is, "Terrible Economy Presents Problems For Ordinary Americans." But if you don't see those stories, there's a reason why, and it has everything to do with the one outlier in Gallup's findings. If you want a hint as to where that outlier is, consider this: every single one of this poll's respondents said they were currently employed. In every state, Gallup spoke to people who are at least fortunate enough to have a job

Gallup Finds The (ONLY) Part Of America That Believes The Economy Is Doing Well

(In the poll, a positive number means the respondents believe the economy is improving, negative numbers mean they felt it was getting worse.)

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The biggest gap between the District of Columbia and the rest of the country is created by the second question used to create the Economic Confidence Index, on whether the economy is getting better or worse.
In every state, a majority of residents think the economy is getting worse. In the nation’s capital, however, a full 60 percent of people think the economy is getting better.

New York Times Economix Blog

It's actually remarkable that Gallup's results yield this distortion, because by other measures, the Beltway bubble is even more pronounced. If you connect Washington, D.C., with Virginia's D.C.-adjacent affluent neighborhoods Alexandria and Arlington, the unemployment rate (from June) is 6.2 percent.

Gallup Finds The (ONLY) Part Of America That Believes The Economy Is Doing Well

Unfortunately, and tellingly, this poll of the employed, ignores the fact that in the less affluent Wards in the D.C. area, unemployment rates as high as 18% and 26% are not uncommon.

Is it any wonder we feel as those in power just don’t live in the same universe as the rest of us?

jw

DC is hurting in the job market, this I know for a fact. However, you have many government employed individuals in that area. Do I believe that 60% of DC believes economy is OKAY?...hell NO! Maybe those they "polled" do, but the majority of DC would be in agreement with the rest of the nation, in my opinion - for what that's worth.

reply to post by summer5

Do I believe that 60% of DC believes economy is OKAY?...hell NO! Maybe those they "polled" do, but the majority of DC would be in agreement with the rest of the nation, in my opinion - for what that's worth.

I like the way Rassussen does it. He has "Mainstream" (us) and what he calls the "Political Class"

67% of Political Class Say U.S. Heading in Right Direction, 84% of Mainstream Disagrees

Rasmussen’s Political Class
Rasmussen has defined a really fantastic concept for its poll interpretations: the Political Class. The very name evokes images of power elites and pundits, fervently applauding their own efforts while peppering their language with meaningless phrases like “the American people” and “Main Street” (vs. “Wall Street”). Oh, you didn’t get all that from it? Well, I did… Maybe I’m too bitter. Anyway, the Political Class is that small group of elites and its ardent supporters, the ones who try to brand themselves as populists but are in fact concerned primarily with the goodness of their own power and authority.

Rasmussen defines the category based on a three-question poll:

1. Generally speaking, when it comes to important national issues, whose judgment do you trust more – the American people or America’s political leaders?
2. Some people believe that the federal government has become a special interest group that looks out primarily for its own interests. Has the federal government become a special interest group?
3. Do government and big business often work together in ways that hurt consumers and investors?

The idea is that each one has three acceptable answers (the populist answer, the elitist answer, and “I don’t know”), and your category is assigned based on your responses. So if you give the elitist answer to 2 questions and I don’t know to a third, or the elitist answer to all three, you’re in the Political Class..... dingodonkey.wordpress.com...

Originally posted by summer5
DC is hurting in the job market, this I know for a fact. However, you have many government employed individuals in that area. Do I believe that 60% of DC believes economy is OKAY?...hell NO! Maybe those they "polled" do, but the majority of DC would be in agreement with the rest of the nation, in my opinion - for what that's worth.

Given that the poll covered EMPLOYED people in a small area surrounding the capitol, I can see them being very happy with their prospects.

Originally posted by jdub297

Originally posted by summer5
DC is hurting in the job market, this I know for a fact. However, you have many government employed individuals in that area. Do I believe that 60% of DC believes economy is OKAY?...hell NO! Maybe those they "polled" do, but the majority of DC would be in agreement with the rest of the nation, in my opinion - for what that's worth.

Given that the poll covered EMPLOYED people in a small area surrounding the capitol, I can see them being very happy with their prospects.

Thank you! I meant to mention that as well. If you poll employed people in ANY location, you will most likely find them happy with their prospects.

reply to post by crimvelvet


I have followed and trusted Rasmussen for years, and more than any other pollsters.

His "political class" demographic is often very telling and revealing of the delusions that control our opportunities.

I've been surprised lately by Gallup's turn away from chumming for the progressives to more straightforward reporting.

jw

reply to post by summer5

Thank you! I meant to mention that as well. If you poll employed people in ANY location, you will most likely find them happy with their prospects.

EXCEPT that everyone else was employed, and they saw a worsening economy!

Only the DC employed envisioned a good future.

Look again at the graph; ALL the other numbers were negative. The graph only shows the "Top 10," every other state agreed it was bad!

jw

reply to post by jdub297


Agreed. As I stated in my original reply, I know how bad the DC economy is. My partner is a Regional Manager for an employment company in the DC metro area (and also MD and PA), has been for 10 years now. It is hitting them like it is hitting the rest of the US. They are better off than some regions in the US, according to their numbers in the corporation, yet they are not doing well, and each passing year it is getting more obvious.

reply to post by summer5


I am sympathetuc to those who work bt still struggle, and see thenselves sliooing.

The insanity is that this isn;t true in the District of Columbia, which can count on US to keep them afloat at our collective expense:

In every state, a majority of residents think the economy is getting worse
.
In the nation’s capital, however, a full 60 percent of people think the economy is getting better.

jw

reply to post by summer5

Thank you! I meant to mention that as well. If you poll employed people in ANY location, you will most likely find them happy with their prospects.

Only if they are on the government Tit! Any other sane person is nervous because they are worried their job will go away OR they will be replaced by a cheaper H1B visa worker. The Company will tell the government they could not FIND a qualified person to fill the position.... Never mind that YOU are qualified and have been doing the job for the last five years with excellent reviews. Never mind that YOU end up having to train your overseas replacement!!!

How H1B Visa FRAUD is killing America
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By thejcrevelator2



How H1B Visa FRAUD is killing America

The H1B visa was established by government to help American companies like Microsoft and others find workers they needed, when there were NO AMERICANS qualified to do the job.

From the beginning this was a fraud because this case is so rare it didn’t need any help from government. In fact American Universities have always produced more graduates than American business can hire and in all specialties.

This program was sold to congress based on the FACT there were NO qualified Americans to take the job. Big companies like Microsoft, IBM, HP, Intel, and others said they just couldn’t find enough engineers, programmers, project managers, program managers, database managers, network managers, etc in America.

Even during the high tech bubble this was NEVER TRUE!

I witnessed this FRAUD personally as workers in high tech companies were forced out and replaced by foreigners. American workers were required to train their foreign replacements. Yes they were given the following alternative: get fired this week or stay on for 90 days and train the INDIAN worker we hired to take your job..... thejcrevelator2.hubpages.com...

And yes I and my husband have seen it too.... Oh and Microsoft is campaigning to have the program expanded this year....

reply to post by crimvelvet


The H1B fraud is by no means limited to DC or to tech jobs. I've seen it in other industries, where the "needs" are custom-specialized to accomodate the desire for certain workers.

jw