EAST LANSING, Mich. — Michigan residents remain sour on the economy, according to MSU’s latest State of the State Survey, but that pessimism does not extend to President Barack Obama – whose 71 percent approval rating is one of the highest in survey history.
Respondents of Michigan State University’s quarterly survey also gave Gov. Jennifer Granholm her most favorable mark in three years – although the 33 percent approval rating is well below her high of 58 percent recorded during her first year as chief executive in 2003.
When it comes to the economy, 67 percent of the 1,001 adults responding to the telephone survey from Jan. 25 to March 25 said they were worse off financially than they were a year ago. That’s the highest mark recorded since MSU’s Institute for Public Policy and Social Research began the survey in 1994.
But it’s also not surprising, given the “once-in-a-lifetime economic downturn,” said Charles Ballard, MSU professor of economics and survey director.
What is surprising, Ballard said, is the sharp turnaround in residents’ views of their governor and president.
As George Bush left the White House, Michigan residents gave him a 14 percent approval rating. Obama’s 71 percent approval rating during his first few months in office is the highest quarterly ranking in the survey’s 15-year history except for the two following the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, when Bush received favorable ratings of 76 percent and 72 percent.
“The remarkable part of the latest survey is that in spite of the economy, you have this dramatic upturn in belief in elected officials and trust in government,” Ballard said.
Granholm’s approval rating of 33 percent is up from a low of 20 percent in winter 2008. “There seems to be an Obama spillover effect,” Ballard said.
One potential positive of the survey: Nearly half (48.8 percent) of respondents believe they’ll be better off in one year. Although that mark has dipped slightly over the past three surveys, it’s still a promising sign, Ballard said.
“That is something I take some hope from,” he said. “There is resilience. There is a belief in the future.”
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