America's confidence in Congress has been less than stellar this year, and this month is no different. Approval of our elected officials again matched the all-time low of 13% in October, Gallup reports.
Since June, approval of Congress has been below 20%. This month's low tied the worst levels recorded in December 2010 and August 2011 -- the latter month being when the U.S. lost its triple-A rating from Standard & Poor's in the wake of the debt ceiling debacle.
Martin Wolf, the Financial Times' chief economic commentator, isn't surprised by this lack of confidence, but he is worried. "We thought we were potentially on the edge of Armageddon," he says in reference to the political infighting over the country's debt burden. "That was terrifying, and it made one realize in a very clear way that the American political system has become something that we do not recognize from the past."
This observation has been increasingly evident since the Tea Party swept into the House of Representatives during the 2010 midterm elections. Partisan politics have reached extraordinary heights, and Congress has engaged in a lot more back and forth than actual legislating.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/u-politics-took-world-edge-armageddon-martin-wolf-131324094.html
Since June, approval of Congress has been below 20%. This month's low tied the worst levels recorded in December 2010 and August 2011 -- the latter month being when the U.S. lost its triple-A rating from Standard & Poor's in the wake of the debt ceiling debacle.
Martin Wolf, the Financial Times' chief economic commentator, isn't surprised by this lack of confidence, but he is worried. "We thought we were potentially on the edge of Armageddon," he says in reference to the political infighting over the country's debt burden. "That was terrifying, and it made one realize in a very clear way that the American political system has become something that we do not recognize from the past."
This observation has been increasingly evident since the Tea Party swept into the House of Representatives during the 2010 midterm elections. Partisan politics have reached extraordinary heights, and Congress has engaged in a lot more back and forth than actual legislating.
http://finance.yahoo.com/blogs/daily-ticker/u-politics-took-world-edge-armageddon-martin-wolf-131324094.html
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