Public Rates the Economy Over Health Reform as Top Issue by More than 2-to-1

Americans are gloomy about the economy, dubious of government efforts to turn it around and feeling the pinch in a variety of ways, so it is no surprise that a Bloomberg poll conducted Dec. 3-7 found the public ranks the issue as the most important one facing the country by more than a 2-to-1 margin over health care reform.

Forty-eight percent listed the economy as the top issue, compared to 20 percent who named health care. Sixteen percent cited the federal deficit, 10 percent said the war in Afghanistan and 3 percent chose climate change.

Fifty-nine percent believe the country is headed in the wrong direction while 32 percent say it is headed in the right direction, with 9 percent undecided.

Forty-nine percent believe the economy will be much the same six months from now, 19 percent say it will get worse and 31 percent believe it will get better.

Sixty percent say the economic stimulus program passed by Congress is either hurting the economy or having no effect. Eighteen percent believe it is keeping the economy from getting worse and 19 percent say it is helping.

Forty-eight percent feel less financially secure since January when President Obama took office, 26 percent feel more secure and 24 percent say there is no difference in how they feel since then.

Americans are pessimistic about government efforts to reduce unemployment by a slight majority, 51 percent to 47 percent. Sixty-two percent express pessimism that they would benefit from health care reform and 61 percent are pessimistic that government will get a handle on the deficit.

The poll asked those surveyed whether they were better or worse off in six areas: household income, job security, quality of health care, amount paid for health care, retirement savings and the market value of their homes.

Those describing themselves as better off did not exceed 15 percent in any of those categories (that figure was for household income). Forty-two percent said they were worse off as far as the value of their homes, 41 percent said they were worse off as far as their retirement savings, 35 percent said they were worse off when it came to what they were paying out-of-pocket for health care, 30 percent said their household income was down and 28 percent felt worse off when it came to job security.

The one category where there was not a marked negative outcome was the quality of health care. Nine percent said they were better off, 13 percent said they were worse off and 71 percent said things were about the same. That squares with findings in other polls that show those who have health coverage are largely satisfied with the quality of care.

On Afghanistan, Obama's decision to send more troops was supported by a 62 percent to 34 percent margin with 4 percent undecided, but his decision to publicly set a timetable to start withdrawing the troops was opposed by 49 percent to 45 percent with 6 percent undecided. (The margin of error is 3.1 points.)

Forty-six percent believe that spending in government programs should be cut to help pay for the surge in Afghanistan, 28 percent favor a tax increase on Americans earning over $250,000 a year while 13 percent would increase taxes on all Americans.

This poll is an outlier when it comes to Obama's job approval rating. While the president has dipped under 50 percent in nearly all other national polls, his approval margin here is 54 percent to 41 percent with 5 percent undecided. However, on specific issues, he gets negative marks on the economy, health care, the deficit and addressing problems on Wall Street and in the financial industry.