US COVID-19 vs. Economy Related Polls: Homelessness, Unemployment and Hunger in America

A new Gallup poll showed Trump’s mismanagement of the COVID-19 crisis and indifference toward infected Americans is catching up to him.

Concerned only about his own self-interest and monied ones he serves at the expense of the health and welfare of ordinary people everywhere, a newly released Gallup poll showed dissatisfaction with him growing.

His weeks earlier approval rating of 49%, the highest of his presidency, slumped to 43%.

Congress is worse at 30%, its lowest approval rating in over a decade.

Respondents’ satisfaction with the direction of the country fell 12 points from weeks earlier.

Poll results, based on interviews conducted from April 1 – 14, showed the sharpest drop in Trump’s approval rating in opinion surveys conducted by Gallup.

In over three years in office, he failed to ever reach the historic average 53% approval rating of US presidents since 1945.

His low since taking office was 40%. His approval among registered Dems fell six points to 7%.

He’s down four points among independents to 39%. Approval among registered Republicans in 93%.

According to Real Clear Politics, 11 national polls show Trump’s disapproval among respondents exceeding his approval by an average of five points.

A CNN/SSRS poll has his approval at 44%, his disapproval at 51%.

A FiveThirtyEight poll published Friday showed Trump’s approval at 44%, his disapproval at 52%.

Some others out in mid-April were as follows:

Morning Consult: 42% approve v. 54% disapprove of Trump’s performance.

YouGov: 42% approve v. 53% disapprove.

Rasmussen/Pulse Opinion Research: 46% approve v. 53% disapprove

Global Strategy Group/GBAO: 44% approve v. 54% disapprove.

Change Research: 44% approve v. 56% disapprove.

A new Pew Research poll showed that 65% of respondents believe Trump reacted too slowly to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Almost three-fourths of respondents believe the worst is still to come. Two-thirds fear state authorities will lift restrictions too soon.

Over half of respondents said Trump’s portrayal of current economic and contagion conditions is better than reality.

The nays on Trump have it. His bump was short-lived. The longer economic hard times and COVID-19 outbreaks continue, the worse his reelection prospect.

A USA/Ipsos poll released Monday showed “rising (public) uncertainty about when routine daily activities will seem safe again.”

Numbers of respondents expressing concern that COVID-19 threatens them personally doubled in recent weeks from 15- 29%.

Nearly all respondents said their lives were changed at least to some extent because of current conditions.

A late March Kaiser Family Foundation poll found nearly half of respondents saying what’s going on affected their mental health, 19% indicating it’s having a “major impact.”

The longer current conditions continue, or if they ease and then worsen, the more dismal survey numbers may look ahead.

A mid-April Gallup poll showed “Americans remain risk averse about getting back to normal.”

Around 80% of respondents said they’ll wait before resuming normal activities.

Rural and other less populated areas may ease restrictions sooner than large urban ones.

The longer shutdown continues, the more restless and eager increasing numbers of people may be to return to work for vital income to support themselves and families.

In the last four weeks, around 22 million US applications for unemployment benefits were processed.

A backlog likely includes millions more, authorities unable to keep pace with unprecedented demand.

State and city budgets are hard-pressed, large shortfalls expected, assuring cuts in essential services without federal help that’s very stingy for ordinary people.

The extent of US unemployment since March is unprecedented with likely more to come.

Because most US workers live from paycheck to paycheck, millions of Americans may be unable to pay rent, service mortgages, pay medical expenses with loss of insurance, and cover other essentials.

Homelessness may increase dramatically. Already hard-pressed food banks are overwhelmed by public need, hunger in America growing exponentially.

Feeding America needs greater amounts of charitable contributions to meet growing demand for their help.

What’s happening worldwide in most countries is what a perfect storm is all about that won’t likely end any time soon.

Hindsight will best explain the human toll from what’s ongoing that’s already unprecedented for growing millions of families in need.

Breadwinners are out of work. Stores, restaurants, factories, theaters, recreational facilities, sports arenas, hotels, and transportation facilities are closed.

Fear of coronavirus contagion has ordinary people looking at others like they’re typhoid Mary, even friends, keeping a good distance away.

A next door neighbor friend I’ve known for years in my building asked if it was OK to ride in the same elevator together.

People fear the unknown, especially because of round-the clock establishment media reports on one topic — COVID-19 contagion.

Even doctors aren’t operating normally, some only seeing emergency patients, others practicing telemedicine, many working shorter schedules.

One of my doctors told me his patient load is 20% of normal. Two others suspended face-to-face visits.

COVID-19 will pass — though maybe not for some time with possible new waves ahead.

The economic and social fallout is far more serious. It’ll likely be long-lasting for ordinary Americans and their counterparts abroad, especially for the world’s most disadvantaged people.

Michel Chossudovsky explained what establishment media ignore, saying the following:

“The unspoken truth is that the novel coronavirus provides a pretext to powerful financial interests and corrupt politicians to precipitate the entire World into a spiral of mass unemployment, bankruptcy and extreme poverty.”

It’s also a way for greater social control by eroding fundamental rights on the phony pretext of greater public safety and security — along with pulling off the greatest heist of wealth from ordinary people to super-rich ones in world history.

When current economic and contagion conditions ease, the state of things is highly likely to be more dismal for most Americans and others abroad than when what’s ongoing began.

The scourge of force-fed neoliberalism is coming full force to the US and most other countries.

It’s about more greatly empowering and further enriching wealth and privileged interests — at the expense of pushing growing poverty and human misery to unprecedented levels.

That’s what lies behind the current socio-economic/public health crisis.

A dystopian world more unsafe and unfit to live in for ordinary people everywhere than already has arrived.

Governments in the US and other Western countries are the public’s enemy, not its savior or ally.

We have a choice — resist or suffer the longterm consequences of what’s going on, our rights lost, our welfare harmed, our future hopes dashed.

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Award-winning author Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. He is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG)

His new book as editor and contributor is titled “Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III.”

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.


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Articles by: Stephen Lendman

About the author:

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected]. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two prerecorded archived programs.

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