Americans positive on economy but views deeply split by politics and wealth
Americans are more positive about the state of the US economy than they have been in nearly two decades, but their views are deeply divided by political leaning and income, according to a new survey.
Pew Research Center’s latest report on people’s views of the US economy reveals a wide split of opinion on the state of the economy and who should get the credit for it. While a majority of the public (55%) describe national economic conditions as “excellent or good”, those views vary wildly depending on political convictions and income.
With unemployment at a 50-year low and stock markets still hitting new highs, the overall percentage of Americans with a positive view of the economy is the among the highest it has been in the 15 years Pew has conducted this survey.
But those positive opinions are overwhelmingly held by Republican and Republican-leaning independents and by those earning over $75,000 a year, a wage far higher than the median family income of $59,039.
About 79% of Republicans and Republican leaners rate the national economy as excellent or good, with 34% rating it as excellent. For Democrats, just 33% rate the economy as excellent or good and only 6% describe it as excellent.
The news will be a boost to Donald Trump, who has consistently boasted about his economic record as president. Trump’s policies have made the economy better according to 79% of his supporters. Just 13% of Democrats hold that view.
But perhaps more worryingly for Trump, lower-income Americans give him far less credit. While about 63% of all citizens making $75,000 a year or more credit Trump for an “excellent or good” economy, that figure falls to 36% for those earning less than $30,000.
Even among Republicans there is a sharp divide, with 88% of those earning more than $75,000 crediting Trump while 54% of those earning less than $30,000 hold the same view.
According to Pew’s research that gap has been growing. In 2016, the difference between the two groups of Republicans was “modest”, according to Pew.