CBS Poll: 75% say Obama stimulus has no, or damaging, effect on economy

posted by Donny Ferguson on Jul 14, 2009

Not only is Barack Obama's approval among Democrats and independents slipping, a new CBS News poll finds 75 percent of Americans now say his massive "stimulus" package of expanded government spending has had "no impact" or a "worse" effect on the economy. (Click here for the PDF.)

Only 48 percent of Americans approve of Obama's handling of the economy, the issue that got him narrowly elected, while 44 percent percent disapprove. That is a dramatic drop from last month, when "approve" beat "disapprove" by a whopping 22 points. More troubling for Obama a plunge in support from his own party. While 66 percent of Democrats still approve of Obama's handling of economic issues, that's 21 percent less than it was just four weeks ago.

And the news gets worse for Obama. Fifty-seven percent of Americans now say the country is heading in the wrong direction, up from 50 percent last month. Seventy-five percent say his massive explosion of borrowing and spending, also known as "the stimulus package" is making the economy worse right now. A majority say it will have no positive effect in the long run.

They have reason to doubt Obama. Two million Americans have lost their jobs since Obama took office. Unemployment is at a 26-year high of 9.5 percent, far higher than the 8 percent Obama said his stimulus package would keep the unemployment rate under.

Americans are showing a growing skepticism of Obama's faith that prosperity can only be created through centralized government control. Libertarians agree. That's why they are the only party pushing a real stimulus package to create the jobs Americans need.

Only Libertarians back common-sense measures such as preserving the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts, cutting taxes on investments, opening up foreign markets to American products, cutting taxes for employers and families and eliminating unnecessary and unneeded federal regulations that prevent employers from creating jobs. Both Republicans and Democrats have proven they can't get the job done.