LAT: Americans Upbeat About Economic Forecast

[RamboLiberal]

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-poll22sep22,0,2607971.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Americans have become more optimistic about the economy and they are giving President Bush some of the credit, a new Times/Bloomberg poll shows.

Republicans running for election next month could benefit from the development, as voters say the economy will influence their choices in November more than any other national issue, including the war in Iraq and terrorism.

Consumer confidence fell this summer as gas prices peaked and the housing market weakened, particularly in California. Those polled in July were almost evenly split on the state of the economy, with 49% saying the economy was doing badly.

Now, the optimists outnumber the pessimists in the poll by 10 percentage points, with 54% saying the economy is doing well.

"There's a lot of conflicting indicators but things seem to be cruising along pretty steadily," said respondent David Busch, 38, a sales executive in Redmond, Wash., who describes himself as an independent voter. "We've seen a lot of alarmist talk about housing bubbles bursting, gas prices that are going to derail the economy that haven't materialized."

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. Which Americans are they talking to?

I don't know *anybody* who thinks the economy is improving.

[Newsjock]

2. They're talking to the ones who answer a landline phone to take surveys

Which excludes pretty much anyone under 30.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. I'm over 30; I have a landline, and I think the economy sucks.

[VegasWolf]

4. Fools! nt

[w4rma]

5. The oil company owners/executives are great con-artists. (nt)

[filer]

6. That's not the general consensus around here.

There is a Target Super Center opening, with a couple of hundred new jobs. Not exactly career opportunities.

[Erika]

7. Our charities are requesting our help on their soup kitchens

Saying that usage has never been higher. Yes, things are ging well for the upper crust, W's supporters.

[daleo]

8. People are optimistic because their houses are losing value rapidly

And they owe enormous mortgage debt on a declining asset. Who wouldn't be happy about that?

[Whoa_Nelly]

9. TIME?

TIME is a liar.

on edit:

TIME is a liar and a divisive disruptor. Loves to split the nation...corporate bastards :grr:

[Rainscents]

10. Washington State is doing fairly well so far...

Our Democratic Governor been doing excellent job keeping the economy going here. Mass road works going on through out the state with .07 cents gas tax that was passed early this year and descent paying job being created due to mess road work project. Oh, How I remembered, RW hacks were bitching about GAS TAX!!! They were all screaming.

[thinks4herself]

11. I was just thinking about this today...

Whatever happened to all the anxiety about the housing bubble bursting and how it would cause a huge economic collapse? It was supposed to be the thing that was keeping the economy looking okay. Sometimes I am not sure who to believe about the "economic outlook."

I think the economy is a joke, however. The only "relief" or improvement in the last couple of weeks is that someone is orchestrating (call me a cynic because I don't believe it's unintentional) lower gas prices in time for the election. What is wrong with people that having slight relief at the pump equals an optimistic outlook?

Black Hearts

[zonkers]

12. A laughable article. Housing starts, Auto Ind. taking huge shits, a

massive inventory of housing on the market across he country, an open ended war. This is utter bullshit.

[OhioChick]

13. The economy

sure is booming around here.... :eyes:

Cleveland tops poverty list; Toledo in middle
CLEVELAND - Cleveland doesn't need numbers to know it's impoverished.

For the second time in three years, Cleveland sits atop the U.S. Census Bureau's list of poorest big cities, reclaiming the inglorious title from Detroit after a one-year hiatus.

Civic leaders, who showed off the city last week to the 2008 Republican National Convention site selection committee, were informed yesterday that the latest statistics showed that 32.4 percent, nearly one in three of Cleveland's 452,200 residents, were living below the poverty level in 2005, according to the American Community Survey.

Cleveland wasn't the only Ohio city near the top of the big-city rankings. Cincinnati ranked No. 8, with one out of every four Cincinnatians, or 25 percent, living in poverty, according to the survey.

http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060830/NEWS16/608300405