December 25, 2012 (TSR) – A new US poll suggests that public expectations regarding the upcoming 2013 year are bleaker than they have been in more than 10 year, with Republicans expressing gloomier outlooks.
Only a 53-percent majority of all Americans are “hopeful” about their lives in 2013 while about 44 percent say they are rather more “fearful” about the year ahead, The Washington Post reports Tuesday, quoting a newly conducted Washington Post-ABC News poll.
Over three quarters of those polled believe the economy is still in a recession, despite somewhat improved economic indicators reported in the country, such as falling unemployment.
“Perceptions of a lingering recession, weak economic recovery and fears of falling off the “fiscal cliff” underpin these sagging expectations,” the report says.
The probability that the year-end deadline for US Congress and President Barack Obama to reach a new budget deal will fall through without an agreement has added to the negative perceptions about the coming year.
Nearly 45 percent, according to the poll, believe that Obama and Republican lawmakers in Congress are unlikely to reach an agreement to avoid the fiscal cliff of major tax hikes and spending cuts.
Personal fears regarding the upcoming year climb to 58 percent among those that feel this failure is likely to occur.
Nearly six in 10 of those polled have expressed serious concerns about the national economy in case a budget agreement is not reached soon. Among those holding major concerns on the issue, 53 percent said they are fearful about the future.
The daily further notes the sharp decline in people’s “hopeful” expectations compared to those expressed for the year 2007, before “the national economic bubble burst.”
“In December 2006, nearly three-quarters were more hopeful than fearful about the coming year.”
Source: Press TV
