19. Do you consider yourself a part of the middle class, or not?

	Yes	No	No opinion
General Public	81	18	*

20. (Asked if considers self middle class) Do you ever feel as if you're at risk of falling out of the middle class?

	Yes	No	No opinion
General Public	41	58	1

19/20 Net Table. Do you consider yourself a part of the middle class, or not? (If so) Do you ever feel as if you're at risk of falling out of the middle class? (General Public)

Middle Class (Net)		81
	Falling Out	33
	Not Falling	47
	No opinion	1
Not Middle Class		18
No opinion		*

21. Do you think improving the economy is something an effective president can do a lot about, do a little about, or is that mostly beyond any president's control?

	A lot	A little	Beyond control	No opinion
General Public	31	29	39	1
Economists	14	63	22	1

22. Generally speaking, do you think each of the following is good or bad for the nation's economy, or don't you think it makes much difference?

Summary Table: General Public

		Good	Bad	Won't make difference	No opinion
a.	Tax cuts	58	15	25	2
b.	More women entering the workforce	54	9	36	1
c.	Increased use of technology in the workplace	70	17	12	2
d.	Trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries	55	28	14	2
e.	The recent downsizing of large corporations	21	59	17	3

Summary Table: Economists

		Good	Bad	Won't make difference	No opinion
a.	Tax cuts	37	33	23	7
b.	More women entering the workforce	74	2	22	2
c.	Increased use of technology in the workplace	97	0	2	1
d.	Trade agreements between the U.S. and other countries	89	3	6	2
e.	The recent downsizing of large corporations	54	16	27	2

23. Some people say that these are economically unsettled times because of new technology, competition from foreign countries, and downsizing. Looking ahead 20 years, do you think these changes will eventually be good or bad for the country or don't you think these changes will make much difference?

	Good	Bad	Won't make difference	No opinion
General Public	43	31	23	3
Economists	93	2	3	2

24. Do you think that trade agreements between the United States and other countries have helped create more jobs in the U.S., or have they cost the U.S. jobs, or haven't they made much of a difference?

	Helped create jobs	Cost U.S. jobs	Haven't made much difference	No opinion
General Public	17	54	27	2
Economists	50	5	42	2

25. Do you think the current price of gasoline is too high, too low, or about right?

	Too high	Too low	About right	No opinion
General Public	75	4	21	1
Economists	7	42	46	5

26. Which do you think is more responsible for the recent increase in gasoline prices: the normal law of supply and demand, oil companies are trying to increase profits, both, or neither.

	Supply and demand	Oil companies profits	Both (vol.)	Neither (vol.)	No opinion
General Public	22	73	2	2	1
Economists	85	8	3	3	1

27. Regardless of how well you think the economy is doing, there are always some problems that keep it from being as good as it might be. I am going to read you a list of reasons some people have given for why the economy is not doing better than it is. For each one, please tell me if you think it is a major reason the economy is not doing better than it is, a minor reason, or not a reason at all. How about ...

Summary Table: General Public

		Major reason	Minor reason	Not a reason	No opinion
a.	Taxes are too high	61	30	8	1
b.	The federal deficit is too big	77	16	5	1
c.	Foreign aid spending is too high	66	23	10	1
d.	There are too many immigrants	47	32	19	1
e.	Too many tax breaks for business	48	35	15	2
f.	Education and job training are inadequate	64	26	9	1
g.	Too many people are on welfare	70	22	7	1
h.	Women and minorities get too many advantages under affirmative action	18	43	38	1
i.	People place too little value on hard work	59	26	14	1
j.	The government regulates business too much	42	41	16	1
k.	People are not saving enough	51	35	13	1

Summary Table: Economists

		Major reason	Minor reason	Not a reason	No opinion
a.	Taxes are too high	18	41	41	*
b.	The federal deficit is too big	32	51	18	0
c.	Foreign aid spending is too high	1	13	86	0
d.	There are too many immigrants	1	19	80	*
e.	Too many tax breaks for business	5	55	40	0
f.	Education and job training are inadequate	67	28	6	0
g.	Too many people are on welfare	11	50	39	0
h.	Women and minorities get too many advantages under affirmative action	2	18	80	0
i.	People place too little value on hard work	18	46	36	*
j.	The government regulates business too much	23	50	27	0
k.	People are not saving enough	56	36	8	*

27. (and 28.) You said that the following things...(read list) were major reasons why the economy is not doing better than it is. Which one of these do you think is the most important reason?

		Economists	General Public
a.	Taxes are too high	6	11
b.	The federal deficit is too big	6	20
c.	Foreign aid spending is too high	0	10
d.	There are too many immigrants	0	7
e.	Too many tax breaks for business	*	6
f.	Education and job training are inadequate	42	14
g.	Too many people are on welfare	1	14
h.	Women and minorities get too many advantages under affirmative action	0	1
i.	People place too little value on hard work	4	8
j.	The government regulates business too much	7	4
k.	People are not saving enough	20	2
	No opinion	2	3
	No item listed as major reason	12	1

Return to top Survey of Americans and Economists on the Economy: Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four | Part Five