April 20, 2012 - American Voters Say Happy Days Aren't Quite Here, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Voters Approve Of Detroit Bailout Word format The surge of economic optimism may have stalled as American voters say 41 - 35 percent they are worse off financially than four years ago, and 51 percent don't expect their personal financial situation to change in the next 12 months, while 32 percent expect it to get better and 13 percent expect it to get worse, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today. Voters say 68 - 27 percent the economy is in a recession, but say 53 - 43 percent it has begun to recover, the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University poll finds. The U.S. Supreme Court should overturn the 2010 health care law, voters say 49 - 38 percent. And voters say 62 - 27 percent the Supreme Court should uphold Arizona's immigration law. By 53 - 41 percent voters approve of the government bailout of the auto industry and believe the bailout has been a success 50 - 38 percent. Democrats approve of the bailout 78 - 17 percent while Republicans disapprove 59 - 34 percent. Independent voters split 49 - 46 percent. "A small majority of American voters think the economy is improving, but the groundswell of optimism we saw in recent months seems to have hit a wall," said Peter A. Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. "Last October, voters said 77 - 20 percent the country was in recession. By February public opinion was rosier with voters saying 66 - 30 percent the country was in recession, a solid positive move. "But now, voters say 68 - 27 percent, we are in a recession. The momentum has slowed if not reversed. Similarly, in September voters said 68 - 28 percent the economy was NOT beginning to recover which turned to 54 - 43 percent in February that it WAS beginning to recover. But now that number has stalled with voters saying 53 - 43 the economy has begun to recover." Democrats, who tend to have lower incomes than Republicans, say 51 - 23 percent they are better off than four years ago. They are worse off, Republicans say 55 - 24 percent and independent voters say 46 - 32 percent. African-Americans, who as a group have lower incomes than whites, say 55 - 21 percent they are better off. Hispanics also say they are better off 40 - 35 percent, while whites say worse off 46 - 31 percent. "It is symbolic of the yawning political divide in this country that even when asked about their financial situation many voters seem to see the answer through a political prism involving their views about Barack Obama's presidency," said Brown. "It is a reasonable presumption that folks for the president see a need to say they have done better to show support for the president - no matter what they have in their wallet. Those who are anti-Obama feel a need to say he has hurt them financially - even if they're on the upper side of the income scale." Asked about the next 12 months, Democrats say 40 - 7 percent, Republicans 23 - 17 percent and independents 32 - 14 percent that things will get better for them in the next year. Optimistic are black voters 59 - 6 percent, whites 27 - 14 percent and Hispanics 41 - 8 percent. American voters give the Supreme Court a 52 - 31 percent job approval rating, higher than approval ratings for President Obama or for Democrats or Republicans in Congress. Democrats want the high court to uphold the health care law 70 - 16 percent. The court should overturn it, Republicans say 80 - 9 percent and independent voters say 55 - 33 percent. On immigration, there is a smaller partisan divide and Hispanic voters are divided as 45 percent want the court to uphold the Arizona law while 43 percent want the law overturned. From April 11 - 17, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,577 registered voters with a margin of error of +/- 1.9 percentage points. Live interviewers call land lines and cell phones. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in Pennsylvania, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Virginia and the nation as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201, or follow us on Twitter. 18. Do you approve or disapprove of the way the United States Supreme Court is handling its job? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 52% 62% 44% 51% 56% 47% 53% 48% 47% Disapprove 31 23 38 31 30 32 30 33 34 DK/NA 18 16 17 18 14 21 17 18 19 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Approve 57% 51% 53% 62% 58% 48% 53% 57% 54% Disapprove 31 30 29 21 28 31 28 26 30 DK/NA 12 19 18 16 13 20 19 17 17 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 55% 50% 44% 53% 56% 59% 55% 55% 47% Disapprove 32 30 34 33 29 30 29 30 32 DK/NA 13 19 23 14 15 11 16 14 21 TREND: Do you approve or disapprove of the way the United States Supreme Court is handling its job? (* High also 62% May 2009) APPROVE....... High Low Apr 20 Apr 21 Jun 04 May 29 Jul 17 Jun 04 Jul 17 2012 2010 2009 2009 2008 2009* 2008 Approve 52 49 62 62 39 62 39 Disapprove 31 33 22 22 43 22 43 DK/NA 18 18 16 16 18 16 18 20. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Very satisfied 3% - 6% 2% 2% 3% 1% 10% 4% Smwht satisfied 28 10 52 21 27 29 22 59 32 Smwht dissatisfied 29 27 27 32 29 29 29 22 35 Very dissatisfied 40 61 14 45 41 38 47 8 28 DK/NA 1 1 - 1 1 1 1 - 2 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Very satisfied 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% Smwht satisfied 27 20 19 23 22 23 18 21 27 Smwht dissatisfied 31 29 25 38 30 29 23 34 28 Very dissatisfied 40 50 54 38 47 46 58 43 42 DK/NA - 1 - - - 1 - 1 1 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Very satisfied 3% 3% 4% 3% 1% 2% 3% 2% 3% Smwht satisfied 31 27 32 24 28 29 30 28 27 Smwht dissatisfied 29 29 27 28 32 28 31 30 27 Very dissatisfied 37 41 36 45 38 42 35 39 42 DK/NA - 1 1 1 - - 1 - 1 TREND: In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today; are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY+SMWHT SAT High Low Apr 20 Feb 23 Nov 23 Nov 02 Oct 06 Dec 11 Nov 13 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 2001 2008 Very satisfied 3 4 2 2 2 21 2 Smwht satisfied 28 26 16 17 16 47 14 Smwht dissatisfied 29 28 31 30 28 19 38 Very dissatisfied 40 42 50 51 53 10 44 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 3 2 25. Would you describe your own personal financial situation as excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Excellent 9% 11% 10% 7% 10% 8% 9% 11% 6% Good 54 53 56 52 54 53 56 51 38 Not so good 23 27 20 24 23 24 22 21 33 Poor 12 7 12 15 12 12 10 14 23 DK/NA 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 3 1 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Excellent 14% 7% 9% 10% 11% 8% 7% 10% 9% Good 68 51 56 60 58 55 55 59 59 Not so good 12 27 25 19 19 25 25 21 21 Poor 4 14 9 11 11 10 11 9 9 DK/NA 2 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 2 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Excellent 14% 7% 3% 4% 8% 28% 7% 10% 9% Good 66 49 34 58 67 64 51 56 54 Not so good 13 27 31 30 20 7 29 20 23 Poor 5 16 31 8 4 1 13 14 11 DK/NA 2 2 2 - - - 1 - 2 26. Are you better off or worse off financially today than you were four years ago? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Better 35% 24% 51% 32% 37% 34% 31% 55% 40% Worse 41 55 23 46 40 42 46 21 35 SAME (VOL) 21 19 24 20 20 22 21 21 19 DK/NA 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 4 6 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Better 38% 28% 25% 29% 34% 28% 25% 30% 30% Worse 37 50 51 46 45 47 56 45 44 SAME (VOL) 23 20 22 23 20 23 17 24 24 DK/NA 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 1 1 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Better 40% 34% 32% 29% 38% 50% 53% 36% 27% Worse 35 44 47 47 38 30 29 44 46 SAME (VOL) 23 20 17 22 22 20 13 20 25 DK/NA 2 3 4 1 1 - 5 1 2 27. During the next 12 months, do you think your own personal financial situation will get better, get worse, or stay about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Better 32% 23% 40% 32% 36% 29% 27% 59% 41% Worse 13 17 7 14 11 14 14 6 8 Stay about the same 51 57 50 49 49 53 55 31 48 DK/NA 4 3 4 4 4 5 4 4 3 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Better 26% 28% 22% 22% 34% 22% 25% 24% 27% Worse 12 15 16 11 11 16 20 12 14 Stay about the same 58 53 57 62 52 57 51 60 54 DK/NA 4 4 4 5 3 5 4 4 4 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Better 28% 34% 36% 32% 33% 31% 54% 35% 19% Worse 12 13 15 11 11 11 6 13 16 Stay about the same 56 48 45 53 53 56 38 50 60 DK/NA 4 4 4 4 3 2 3 3 5 28. Do you think the United States economy is in a recession now? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 68% 79% 57% 69% 66% 69% 69% 59% 67% No 27 15 38 28 30 25 26 37 27 DK/NA 5 6 6 3 4 6 5 4 6 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Yes 62% 72% 73% 67% 66% 71% 76% 68% 70% No 34 22 21 27 30 22 19 27 26 DK/NA 4 6 6 6 4 6 5 5 4 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Yes 61% 70% 70% 70% 66% 64% 69% 68% 66% No 35 24 24 27 30 33 29 27 27 DK/NA 4 5 6 4 4 3 2 4 7 TREND: Do you think the United States economy is in a recession now? YES RECESSION High Low Apr 20 Feb 23 Oct 06 Sep 01 Jul 14 Jun 22 Feb 23 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 2010 2012 Yes 68 66 77 76 71 79 66 No 27 30 20 20 25 18 30 DK/NA 5 4 3 4 4 3 4 29. Do you think the economy is beginning to recover or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 53% 34% 77% 48% 52% 53% 50% 74% 52% No 43 62 19 47 43 42 46 20 40 DK/NA 4 4 4 5 4 5 4 6 8 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Yes 61% 45% 43% 54% 51% 49% 39% 52% 50% No 36 51 52 44 46 47 56 44 45 DK/NA 3 4 5 2 3 4 4 4 5 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Yes 63% 49% 50% 51% 57% 58% 58% 49% 54% No 34 46 45 46 40 38 37 47 41 DK/NA 3 5 5 3 3 4 5 3 6 TREND: Do you think the economy is beginning to recover or not? Apr 20 Feb 23 Sep 01 Jul 14 Jun 09 Jan 18 Jul 22 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 2010 Yes 53 54 28 45 45 54 44 No 43 43 68 52 52 43 52 DK/NA 4 3 4 3 3 3 5 30. Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Obama 43% 7% 84% 35% 40% 46% 35% 87% 50% Reps in Congress 43 80 8 48 47 38 51 4 33 DK/NA 15 13 9 17 13 16 14 9 17 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Obama 44% 31% 26% 38% 34% 36% 20% 35% 40% Reps in Congress 46 54 59 49 55 48 66 50 47 DK/NA 11 15 15 13 11 16 13 15 13 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Obama 49% 41% 46% 42% 44% 40% 44% 42% 43% Reps in Congress 40 44 37 45 45 49 42 43 43 DK/NA 12 16 17 14 11 11 14 15 14 TREND: Who do you trust to do a better job handling the economy, President Obama or the Republicans in Congress? (* Low also 41% Jul 2010, Jun 2011) OBAMA......... High Low Apr 20 Feb 23 Nov 22 Nov 02 Oct 06 Nov 02 Oct 06 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 2011 2011* Obama 43 46 44 48 41 48 41 Reps in Congress 43 41 41 39 43 39 43 DK/NA 15 13 15 12 16 12 16 45. Do you think Congress should try to repeal the health care law, or should they let it stand? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Should repeal it 51% 82% 21% 57% 56% 48% 59% 17% 38% Should let it stand 38 8 68 33 36 39 32 67 50 DK/NA 11 9 11 10 9 13 10 16 12 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Should repeal it 51% 63% 68% 59% 63% 55% 74% 58% 56% Should let it stand 44 25 22 34 30 33 15 33 34 DK/NA 5 12 10 7 7 12 10 9 11 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Should repeal it 46% 54% 47% 55% 52% 56% 48% 56% 49% Should let it stand 47 34 37 38 39 39 39 35 40 DK/NA 6 13 16 7 9 5 13 9 11 TREND: Do you think Congress should try to repeal the health care law, or should they let it stand? (2011 wording referenced "new" health care law) Apr 20 Feb 23 Nov 23 May 04 Jan 18 2012 2012 2011 2011 2011 Should repeal it 51 52 47 44 48 Should let it stand 38 39 41 45 43 DK/NA 11 10 12 11 8 46. The Supreme Court has heard a challenge to the health care law. Do you want the Supreme Court to uphold the health care law or overturn it? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Uphold it 38% 9% 70% 33% 36% 40% 31% 70% 52% Overturn it 49 80 16 55 54 44 56 13 35 DK/NA 13 11 14 12 10 16 12 17 14 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Uphold it 44% 25% 23% 31% 30% 32% 17% 33% 34% Overturn it 49 60 64 59 61 52 70 56 55 DK/NA 7 15 13 10 9 16 13 11 12 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Uphold it 47% 34% 38% 37% 39% 39% 42% 36% 38% Overturn it 45 50 43 53 51 53 43 53 48 DK/NA 8 16 19 10 10 8 14 11 14 TREND: The Supreme Court has heard a challenge to the health care law. Do you want the Supreme Court to uphold the health care law or overturn it? (2011 wording referenced "new" health care law) (* "will hear") Apr 20 Feb 23 Nov 23 2012 2012* 2011* Uphold it 38 39 40 Overturn it 49 50 48 DK/NA 13 11 12 47. As you may know, in 2010 the state of Arizona passed a law that requires police to verify the legal status of someone they have already stopped or arrested if they suspect that the person is in the country illegally. Do you approve or disapprove of Arizona's immigration law? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Approve 68% 92% 46% 72% 71% 66% 74% 55% 47% Disapprove 27 5 47 24 25 28 22 37 49 DK/NA 5 3 7 4 4 6 4 7 5 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Approve 62% 80% 81% 75% 75% 72% 85% 73% 75% Disapprove 35 16 15 21 22 23 11 22 21 DK/NA 3 4 5 4 3 5 4 4 4 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Approve 59% 72% 68% 70% 70% 68% 69% 68% 67% Disapprove 37 22 26 26 27 29 28 28 26 DK/NA 4 5 7 4 3 2 3 4 7 TREND: As you may know, in 2010 the state of Arizona passed a law that requires police to verify the legal status of someone they have already stopped or arrested if they suspect that the person is in the country illegally. Do you approve or disapprove of Arizona's immigration law? (2011 wording "As you may know, last year...") Apr 20 Feb 23 Nov 03 2012 2012 2011 Approve 68 64 61 Disapprove 27 32 34 DK/NA 5 4 5 48. The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Arizona's immigration law. Do you want the Supreme Court to uphold Arizona's immigration law or overturn it? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Uphold it 62% 85% 39% 68% 67% 58% 68% 46% 45% Overturn it 27 7 49 24 26 29 23 40 43 DK/NA 10 8 13 8 7 13 9 13 12 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Uphold it 57% 74% 75% 69% 71% 65% 80% 68% 68% Overturn it 34 18 16 21 23 23 12 22 23 DK/NA 9 9 9 10 6 12 8 9 9 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Uphold it 54% 66% 60% 64% 66% 62% 62% 64% 62% Overturn it 36 24 27 27 27 31 29 28 27 DK/NA 10 10 12 9 7 7 10 7 11 TREND: The Supreme Court will hear a challenge to Arizona's immigration law. Do you want the Supreme Court to uphold Arizona's immigration law or overturn it? Apr 20 Feb 23 2012 2012 Uphold it 62 61 Overturn it 27 31 DK/NA 10 8 49. Do you think the government bailout of the American auto industry was a success or a failure? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Success 50% 37% 68% 44% 52% 48% 50% 58% 44% Failure 38 50 18 46 39 36 39 24 34 DK/NA 13 13 14 10 9 16 11 17 22 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Success 61% 44% 45% 54% 52% 48% 38% 53% 46% Failure 30 44 42 37 40 39 49 37 41 DK/NA 9 12 14 8 8 14 12 11 13 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Success 61% 45% 39% 56% 54% 62% 43% 48% 56% Failure 29 41 44 35 37 30 42 39 33 DK/NA 9 14 17 9 9 8 15 12 11 50. Do you think the government should have acted to help the American auto industry or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Hsp Yes 53% 34% 78% 49% 51% 55% 50% 77% 56% No 41 59 17 46 45 37 44 16 40 DK/NA 6 7 5 5 4 8 5 6 4 WHITE.............................................. COLLEGE DEG BornAgnEv Mltry Yes No Prot Cath Men Wom Yes No HsHld Yes 57% 47% 46% 53% 48% 52% 41% 52% 50% No 39 47 48 43 48 41 53 43 44 DK/NA 4 6 6 4 3 7 7 5 6 COLLEGE DEG ANNUAL HOUSEHOLD INCOME... AGE IN YRS....... Yes No <30K 30-50 50-100 >100K 18-34 35-54 55+ Yes 59% 51% 51% 58% 54% 54% 55% 52% 55% No 37 42 43 38 42 42 40 43 40 DK/NA 4 6 6 4 4 4 5 6 5 Demographic Summary
