What They Told Us

Voters didn’t like much of what they saw last week.

On Tuesday, President Obama signed into law the $787-billion economic stimulus plan. The president was able to rally support for the plan through his own personal appeal, but only 38% of voters nationwide believe the plan will help the economy.

On Wednesday, General Motors and Chrysler came back to Washington asking for an additional $22 billion in federal help, but 64% of U.S. voters are opposed to providing them any additional taxpayer-backed loans.

Also on Wednesday, Obama announced a $275-billion taxpayer-backed plan that would help some Americans refinance their mortgage payments or otherwise avoid foreclosure. But sixty-three percent (63%) say the housing market will improve only when the overall U.S. economy gets better. Just 25% believe targeted government programs like those announced by the president will help the housing market.

In Congress, after the intense partisan debate over the economic stimulus bill, Republicans and Democrats remain almost even in this week’s edition of the Generic Congressional Ballot.

Sixty percent (60%) of U.S. voters say finding new sources of energy is more important than reducing the amount of energy Americans now consume.

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