Main Street Is Worried Too

While the White House feuds and Wall Street frets about runaway federal deficits, Main Street is deeply concerned too. The issue has become the most visible and powerful symbol of the general public's fears about the outlook for the U.S. economy.

That was the main finding of a new poll conducted for TIME by Yankelovich, Skelly & White. The survey of 1,000 registered voters, taken from Jan. 31 to Feb. 2, found that nearly 90% view the deficits as a serious economic problem. Even more, 95%, consider Congress to be responsible for the present and projected budget gaps, while 87% blame President Reagan.

When respondents were asked what should be done about the deficits, only a fraction favored cutting social spending. The majority said that they would prefer to see a decrease in military outlays. In addition, they rejected an increase in personal income taxes as a means of reducing the shortfall. By far the most popular revenue-raising measure was a higher tobacco tax.

Those questioned were surprisingly unimpressed by the drop in inflation, which tumbled from 12.4% in 1980 to 3.8% last year. A stunning 44% of the respondents were unaware that inflation had gone down. Only 20% thought that the end of spiraling prices had affected them a lot. Slightly more than one-third, by contrast, said the break in inflation had not affected them at all. When asked to pick reasons for inflation's decline, two-thirds cited the drop in oil prices as a cause. Some 59% mentioned the recession and high unemployment, while 54% saw President Reagan's economic policies as a factor.

The survey also found that most Americans still consider joblessness, which has fallen from 10.7% to 8% in the past 15 months, a major concern. As many as 75% of those polled said that they regard unemployment as a key voting issue. Still more, 80%, expect the level of inflation to influence their vote. One out of every two respondents said inflation would be at its present level at the end of 1984. And while 28% look for a higher year-end rate, only 19% thought that the level would drop.

Many of those polled remain convinced that business occupies an unduly privileged position in American society. More than half said that companies do not pay enough taxes, while seven out of ten thought that corporate managers were overpaid. A sizable majority favored raising business taxes in order to close the budget gap.

The survey showed that much of the public was scarred by the 1981-82 recession and remains wary about the outlook for the future. Fully 50% of those questioned reported no improvement in their standard of living over the past year. Moreover, people's expectations about how they will fare in the coming months have barely improved since the depth of the slump in December 1982. Some 50% saw better days ahead for themselves when questioned then, compared with 52% today.

The public is clearly concerned about the future of the economy. Yankelovich found that 52% believe the recovery that got under way just over a year ago will prove to be temporary. Only 40%, on the other hand, said they expect the economic improvement to last.