Americans’ views of US economy tick up: poll

Americans’ positive views of the United States economy remains well below half, but have ticked up slightly over the past week, according to a new CBS poll.

The new poll found that 33 percent of Americans think the condition of the economy is good, an increase from last week’s number of 28 percent. As the nation’s debt limit remains in limbo, more than half of Americans say that Congress should not raise the debt ceiling while 45 percent saying that it should.

But when presented with the prospect of a default, 67 percent said it should raise the debt limit. Most Americans also think that both Republicans and President Biden should compromise on the debt ceiling negotiations, according to the poll.

Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) met with Biden last week to discuss the debt ceiling. The White House wants Congress to raise the debt ceiling without making spending cuts, while Republicans want to use the debt ceiling as an opportunity to limit spending in certain areas though the specifics of that are unknown.

Thirty-eight percent of Americans also expect the economy to be in a recession next, and 24 percent believe that the economy will be slowing down, according to the poll. The poll also found that 20 percent think that the economy will be booming, and that 18 percent believe it will hold steady.

When asked who would be responsible for U.S. economy in 2023, 48 percent of Americans answered with Biden. Forty-three percent said Democrats in Congress would be responsible while 39 percent said the Federal Reserve would be and 32 percent cited Republicans in Congress.

The CBS/YouGov survey polled 2,030 U.S. adult residents between Feb. 1 to Feb. 4, and has a margin of error of 3 points, according to the website.