More and more Americans feel the U.S. economy is mired in a recession, a new Rasmussen Reports survey finds.
The poll found that 62 percent of consumers believe the U.S. economy is currently in a recession, while 22 percent disagree.
Among investors, 61 percent say the economy is in a recession, while 24 percent say it’s not.
Editor's Note: Prophetic Economist Warns: “It’s Curtains for America.” See Evidence.
The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures consumer confidence on a daily basis, rose 2 points on Sunday to 85.9. The consumer index is down 3 points from a week ago, up 2 points from a month ago and down 4 points from three months ago.
The Rasmussen Investor Index rose 4 points on Sunday to 92.2. Investor confidence remained largely unchanged from a week ago, is down 2 points from a month ago and down 4 points from three months ago.
Fears the United States will slide into a recession next year have been growing, thanks to a fast-approaching and very sharp fiscal adjustment that will strike on New Year’s Day.
At the end of this year, the Bush-era tax cuts and other tax breaks and benefits are scheduled to expire at the same time automatic cuts to government spending kick in, a combination known as a fiscal cliff that could throw the country into a recession next year if left unchecked by Congress.
Lawmakers have been unwilling to address tax and spending issues in an election year, though some have suggested they can reconvene after the elections or even in early 2013 and deal with the problem then.
The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates that the economy could contract by 0.5 percent next year and unemployment rates would rise to around 9 percent by late 2013 if lawmakers fail to steer the country away from the fiscal cliff.
Uncertainty, economists say, is threatening an already tepid recovery.
“I can’t recall a period when we’ve had so many question marks lurking on the horizon,” Robert Dye, Comerica Bank’s chief economist, told clients at a recent event, according to The Detroit News.
“It’s all about the fiscal cliff,” Dye said, adding business decisions to put off expansion plans are already acting like a “wet blanket” dampening recovery.
“The fiscal cliff is already happening right now.”
Editor's Note: Prophetic Economist Warns: “It’s Curtains for America.” See Evidence.
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