Gallup: More Americans Pessimistic About Economy After Obama Reelection

On Tuesday, a Gallup economic confidence index found Americans are more pessimistic about the economy after President Obama’s reelection.

A majority of Americans (51%) believe the economy is getting worse while 44% think the economy is getting better. In addition, 39% of those surveyed said the economy is in “poor” shape. 

Gallup believes Americans will be more confident about the economy if Congress avoids the so-called fiscal cliff. 

“Although economic confidence in the U.S. in recent weeks has been at its highest since 2008, future improvement, including getting into positive territory anytime soon, likely hinges on the ability of Congress and the president to reach an agreement and avoid the fiscal cliff,” Gallup said. 

The economic confidence index “declined across the board among political groups — the reading was 31 among Democrats, minus 62 among Republicans, and minus 20 for those without a major party.” 

According to Gallup, “the gap between evaluations for Democrats and Republicans — 93 points — is the third-largest ever recorded in the index. The gaps had been 94 percent and 95 percent in the two weeks leading up to the elections.”