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Monday, October 06, 2008
State of the State Survey: Historic Low for Michigan Consumer Confidence
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EAST LANSING - Michigan consumer confidence, already at historic
lows, dropped still further this summer, a new Michigan State University State of the State Survey contends.
More than 60 percent of the state's residents said they're worse off this summer than they were a year ago, a new low for the survey measuring consumer
confidence quarterly since 1994.
Barely 42 percent called their finances excellent or good, another new low.
The Summer 2008 survey, questioning Michigan 1,010 adults between mid-July
and mid-September, is the first to be completed during the recent increase in
troubles on Wall Street.
In the previous quarter's survey, 57.3 percent of the state's residents said they
were worse off then than a year ago. In that same survey, in Spring 2008, slightly
more than 45 percent of those interviewed called their finances excellent or
good.
"We're in year nine of employment losses in the state of Michigan," said State of
the State Director Charles Ballard, an MSU economics professor. "It isn't very
surprising that many people are feeling uneasy."
However, there were also some encouraging notes, Ballard said. Slightly more than 22 percent of the state's residents said they were better off this
summer than they were a year ago. That's up from 20.4 percent who said they were better off in the Spring 2008 polling.
Michigan citizens also predicted better times next year. More than half, 52.1
percent, expect they'll be better off a year from now, a striking improvement from
the spring's record low of 39.4 percent, Ballard said.
When asked about presidential choices, 45 percent of the respondents expressed
support for Democratic U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and 33.3 percent
favored Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
On Michigan's political front, Gov. Jennifer Granholm's performance was rated as
"excellent" or "good" by 23 percent of those responding to the survey, down from
24.1 percent in the spring's rating, but up from 20 percent in the Winter 2008
survey.
President Bush's approval rating fell to another new low, with 16.6 percent of the
state's residents giving him an "excellent" or "good" rating, a decline from 17.4
percent in the previous quarter's survey.
Citizens were also asked to assess Detroit's fortunes in the next five to 10 years.
Overall, 32.3 percent of those responding predicted the city's status would
improve, 40 percent said it would stay the same, and 27.7 percent predicted
decline.
The telephone survey was conducted by MSU's Office for Survey Research in the
Institute for Public Policy and Social Research (IPPSR.) IPPSR, in MSU's College
of Social Science, specializes in public policy, political leadership training, and
survey research.
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Author: Staff Writer
Source:
MITechNews.Com
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