Americans with credit card debt more optimistic about direction of country than those without debt

PALO ALTO, Calif., May 29th, 2009:

Americans who carry a balance on their credit cards have very different views about the direction of the country than those who pay off their credit card bills every month. A YouGov PollingPoint poll found that a clear majority of people who pay their credit card bills in full share misgivings about the future. Opinion is more divided among people who carry a balance on their credit cards. In that group, the gap between those who are optimistic about the direction of the country and those who see trouble ahead is only 12%.

Overall, public opinion has become increasingly pessimistic about the direction of the country since the beginning of May. These findings represent a reversal of a four month trend toward increased optimism, which peaked on April 26th. That was the only time in 2009 when respondents who believed the country was headed in the right direction outnumbered those saying it was on the wrong track.

Presidential Approval Tracker

President Obama received a 56% approval rating in a May 17-19, 2009 YouGov PollingPoint tracking poll. This approval rating is equal to the average rating that President Obama has received during his time in office.

Interested in more details about the poll? We have a topline summary and complete tabs available now.

Methodology:

These results are from a weekly YouGov PollingPoint public opinion tracking poll conducted for publication in The Economist. The poll surveyed 1,000 respondents and was fielded from May 17, 2009 to May 19, 2009. Results from interviews conducted online by members of the PollingPoint panel are representative of the U.S. adult population. The margin of error for this poll is +/- 5.2%.