Athens, Ga. – The latest Peach State Poll finds that Georgians are generally positive in their assessment of the current economy, although these attitudes vary dramatically across party lines. While 61 percent of Republicans rate economic conditions in the state as either excellent (5 percent) or good (56 percent), only 33 percent of Democrats rate the economy as either excellent (2 percent) or good (31 percent) — a 28 percentage point difference. In addition 70 percent of Republicans say the economy is also getting better, whereas a plurality of Democrats (42 percent) say the economy is getting worse.
The Peach State Poll is a quarterly survey of public opinion conducted by the University of Georgia’s Carl Vinson Institute of Government. The most recent poll was conducted in June 2004.
“When we control for other factors related to one’s view of the economy, specifically income and race, the differences between Republicans and Democrats dissipate some, but they are still present and statistically significant,” said poll director Rich Clark. The percent of Republicans saying that the economy is getting better is 24 percentage points higher than in the August 2003 Peach State Poll.
Additionally the percentage of Georgians who rate the economy as either excellent or good has increased by 9 percentage points since the March 2004 poll and by 17 percentage points since the summer of 2003. “The increase in the proportion of poll respondents who rate Georgia’s economic conditions as either excellent or good and the upturn in the percentage of respondents who believe the state economy is getting better has coincided with a lower state unemployment rate, net job creation, and a decrease in mass layoffs and monthly unemployment insurance initial claims,” noted Roger White, Vinson Institute economist.
Other Peach State Poll results:
* The percentage of Georgians who say that the state is heading in the right direction has increased from 46 percent in March 2004 to 55 percent in June 2004; only 29 percent of the public say that things in Georgia are on the wrong track. As with views on the economy, attitudes about the general direction of the state differ by party, although even Democrats are more likely to say things are heading in the right direction (48 percent) than to say they are on the wrong track (36 percent).
* Georgians cite education (21 percent) and the economy (20 percent) as the most important problems facing the state.
* Although Georgians are more likely to say that the people of Georgia are neither better off nor worse off financially today than four years ago, they are more likely to say that their family itself is better off today than four years ago.
* A majority of the Georgia public expresses a high level of confidence in the state’s public colleges and universities (61 percent) and in their local police (53 percent). On the other hand, only 23 percent express high levels of confidence in the state legislature, and only 24 percent have a high level of confidence in the print and broadcast news media.
These data were taken from a Peach State Poll survey conducted between June 8 and June 14, 2004. The poll included 801 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/-3.5 percent.
The Carl Vinson Institute of Government, a public service and outreach unit of the University of Georgia, has as part of its mission to provide policymakers with systematic, objective research to inform policy decisions. In accordance with that mission, the Peach State Poll aims to give voice to the public on important policy matters and issues pertaining to political, social and economic life in Georgia.
For more information on this survey or other Peach State Poll results, see www.vinsoninstitute.org/peachpoll.
