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The U.S. public strongly approves of how President Barack Obama is handling efforts to pass a stimulus package but not so for Congress, poll results indicate.
Obama has a 67 percent approval rating for the way in which he is addressing government’s efforts to pass a bill, while Democrats and Republicans in Congress earned approval ratings of 48 percent and 31 percent, respectively, results from a Gallup poll released today indicated.
Recent polling also indicated a slight majority of Americans asked generally favor passing a stimulus plan of around $800 billion, a sentiment Gallup said remained constant over the last several weeks.
Obama’s overall job approval rating — 64 percent as of Sunday — is close to his approval rating on the stimulus, while Gallup’s last measure of favorable ratings for the Republicans in Congress in December was 25 percent, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency reported.
Our Congress-critters are doing a stellar job at broadening and building support aren’t they? [/sarcasm]
#40
> Their worst fear
> is that the economy
> will recover, because
> they put the party first,
> not country.
Would it not be the case that with this stimulus package that Obama’s administration will have almost no ability to pass the new spending initiatives he proposed during his election? How can universal health care for example be proposed in light of a near doubling of the national debt? If anything, I think the Republicans are more fearful of Obama with money to spend on initiatives than Obama up to his eyeballs in debt.
While I applaud the general principles outlined by the Treasury Secretary this morning, the solution they are proposing will be ripe for abuse no matter how much oversight they claim to have. The claim that we are saving the people not the banks makes a nice sound bite but the reality is that the money is being funneled (laundered) through the banks and there are lots of fingers dipping into that stream.
#41, Thomas,
How can universal health care for example be proposed in light of a near doubling of the national debt?
Oh how blind are those who refuse to see.
Currently, employers and employees are paying something like $12,000 for ever family coverage. Plus, add on all the co-pays and deductibles. With Universal Health Care, or any single payer system, this would instead be directed to a single pot instead of all the various insurance companies.
There would be no profit taking, no wasted time while physicians argue with insurance companies to get their patients treated, no huge frilly extras that hospitals charge for, fewer frivolous tests, refusal to treat because “it is a pre-existing condition”, and care instead of paperwork.
The people want a national health service of some kind. They will get it. It can easily be done with no increase in the National Debt and a saving in spending.