WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As lawmakers in Washington focus on opening the
government after the Oct. 1 partial shutdown, raising the debt limit, and
debating the merits of the Affordable Care Act, Americans say creating jobs is
the most important way for the federal government to improve the economy.
These results are based on a Gallup poll conducted Sept. 19-20, prior to the
government shutdown on Oct. 1, in which Americans were asked in an open-ended
format to say the most important thing the federal government can do to improve
the U.S. economy. The 22% who mentioned creating jobs were not more specific
about how this could be accomplished. Previous Gallup research has shown that
Americans favor spending government
money on a series of job creation proposals, including lowering taxes for
businesses that create jobs in the U.S. and a program that would employ people
to work on infrastructure repair projects.
Second on Americans' list of suggestions -- that Congress should figure out
how to cooperate and get things done -- mirrors the types of responses Americans
give when asked why
they disapprove of the job Congress is doing. This also fits with the recent
finding that Americans say dysfunction
in government is the most important problem now facing the nation.
The next three recommendations have to do with how the government deals with
the money it controls, including balancing the budget and cutting spending,
changing the way Americans are taxed, and redirecting foreign aid monies to
domestic concerns. The fact that a combined 21% of Americans focus on Congress
working better together or balancing the budget suggests that a sizable minority
see the current conflict in Washington as affecting the economy. This connection
is reinforced by the recent and dramatic drop in economic
confidence after the Oct. 1 shutdown.
Although defunding the healthcare law has been a controversial sticking point
in the debate over funding the government and avoiding the shutdown, relatively
few Americans (5%) mention repeal or taking other actions to improve healthcare
as the best way to help the economy.
Americans' Top Suggestion to Businesses: Hire More
Workers
In the same poll, Gallup asked Americans what businesses and corporations
themselves could do to improve the economy, and creating jobs again topped
the list. Thirty-one percent of Americans say businesses can create jobs and
hire more people, and 8% each cite bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. and
paying higher wages.
Other suggestions with at least 5% of mentions deal with governmental, rather
than business, actions, including changes to the healthcare law or system, and
Congress and the government working together. Fewer Americans recommend that
businesses treat their people better and watch their bottom line.
Americans have reacted negatively toward Washington politicians' inability to
work together to end the government shutdown and the current brinksmanship over
the pending federal debt ceiling deadline. Thus, it is not surprising that some
Americans see greater governmental cooperation and compromise as the best way
for the federal government and corporations to improve the U.S. economy. Even
so, at a time of declining economic
confidence, the public believes that creating jobs is the key to a robust
economy.
President Barack Obama tried to refocus on the economy in a series of
speeches this summer, but the Syrian conflict, controversy over the healthcare
law in Congress, and fiscal debates have seemingly drawn attention away from his
economic agenda. Americans who suggest that cooperation in Washington is the top
way to improve the economy may feel that by quickly resolving issues such as the
federal budget and the debt limit, lawmakers and business leaders may be able to
turn their attention to improving the economy.