Sixty percent outright call the economy unfairly “rigged” in that only “certain people” get advantages that others don’t. Only one third think it works fairly to reward hard work. In response to reports that things are better, 42 percent say “maybe for some people, but not for people like me.” And as many previous studies have shown, these kinds of evaluations aren’t always economic, they’re often political — based on who controls the White House, in that Democrats are more likely to say things are good, while Republicans say they’re bad. So the president gets the largest share of blame for the economy among those who say things are bad (67 percent say he himself is a big reason the economy is bad) and he also gets the most credit for the economy (48 percent, the top answer on the list) among those who think things are good. This is over other factors such as availability of jobs, globalization, and technological changes. Asked who they think has gained since the last recession, voters say banks (64 percent say so) and large businesses. Who has lost? Blue-collar workers, and – a majority 52 percent – say “people like me.”
With regard to the discussion of Hillary Clinton’s pneumonia last week a majority calls it a matter of disclosure more so than health (51 percent) while also feeling that it did raise larger issues about Clinton’s health – Republicans in particular say this – but voters overall feel nonetheless it was still blown out of proportion.
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