Despite Worsening Perceptions of the Economy, Support for the Stimulus Drops

Take a look at this chart: the blue line depicts the historic percentage of respondents who give a negative rating to current economic conditions (source: Gallup), while the red line depicts the historic percentage of respondents who support the economic recovery package proposed by Barack Obama and the Congressional Democrats (source: Rasmussen).

Although the polling is not long-term enough to indicate a definitive trend, the chart suggests an intriguing possibility: although the public perception of the economy continues to turn increasingly negative, the percentage of the public that supports the stimulus bill is dwindling. In many ways this may seem counterintuitive considering that Americans presumably desire economic relief, particularly as the state of the economy grows more and more severe.

This data seems to indicate a high level of pragmatism among the public — instead of looking for a quick fix laden with excessive pork barrel spending and rampant government growth, they want a long-term and effective solution. This is also a sign that those who proclaim the death of conservatism are severely jumping the gun. Whether this trend will continue as the economy and the public’s perception of the economy fall to even lower levels remains to be seen. However, if it does, it will be further evidence of a nation that remains decidedly center-right, at least on fiscal issues.