Oregon Public Broadcasting

Oregonians are deeply concerned about the economy and their personal finances -- according to a new poll released Monday by OPB and Fox 12.

State residents also want to see deep cuts to reduce the national budget deficit. But  when asked specifics they disagree on what those cuts should be.

Some economists and Wall Street traders say the recession ended a while ago.

But Oregonians are not convinced.

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Our poll found six out of ten believe we're still in an economic recession and that the recession is likely to continue in the foreseeable future.

"I think people are perceiving it as picking up. I don't necessarily think that's happening," says Jana Krabbe, who lives on the beach near Astoria.

Her business makes intricate display boxes out of wood and glass. And she says, her sales have yet to pick up.

"I'm one of those, come-on, you've got to show me better than that, kind of people."

The telephone survey of 500 people was conducted on Friday and Saturday by Davis, Hibbits and Midghall. It found that 22 percent of Oregonians think even if we are out of the recession, we're headed into another one.

Pollster Rebecca Ball says Oregonians gave many reasons why they feel economically insecure.

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"33 percent said lack of jobs, with 3 percent that said lack of family-wage-jobs. But in addition to that, people said, 'I'm worried about my current job.' So lack of job security; no pay increases; my hours have been cut back at work. They're also stressed about their ability to keep up, citing the cost of living increasing; general household financial stress; worry about being able to pay back their household bills; and also worried about their ability to pay back college loans," according to Ball.

Ball says that while some businesses have reported more positive news, Oregonians aren't going to believe it until they experience economic stability themselves. 

In fact 57-percent said they feel worse off today, than they did two years ago. And among people close to retirement age, seven in ten feel worse off.

Ball says considering such an economic outlook, it's not surprising that half of all Oregonians think the state is on the wrong track. But the numbers split along party lines.

"Republicans are most negative. So 69 percent of Republicans think the state is headed in the wrong direction. Compared to 51 percent of Independents. And Democrats lean toward things being on the right track."

Those figures are reflected in Governor John Kitzhaber's 50 percent approval rating. He's a Democrat and Ball says, 50 percent is good considering all the economic concerns.

But it's all downhill after Kitzhaber.

46 percent of Oregonians approve of the job President Barak Obama is doing; 41 percent approve of the Oregon legislature; and only 28 percent think the U.S. Senate is doing a good job.

That all translates to seven out of ten people who think the political system needs to be fixed.

"What I think you can take from this question is that people are very unsatisfied with the job performance of Congress, of Obama, But also in the system itself.  And so, what I think this means is that these numbers is people are more open to third party candidates, if one could get off the ground," Ball says.

Who that might be, if anyone, we'll have to wait and see.

Meanwhile, the poll shows Oregonians know what the problem is -- the economy.

And they appear to agree on one thing: 61 percent would support an across-the-board cut in government spending. But when asked for specifics, like should we cut Medicare, or should we cut Medicaid -- seven in ten say, no.

"Medicare, Medicaid, military spending account for a majority of the budget. And when we see figures like 76 percent opposing spending on Medicare, opposing spending on Medicaid, and people split on whether to cut military spending. People are contradicting themselves," Ball says.

John Alden runs a consulting business in Springfield.

"We all have our pet little items. Education, police and fire, those two we cannot cut. But what's a fair way to do it? I don't know. Some people have suggested an across the board, 10 percent cut. Maybe that's a start. And then start to look at these entitlements that we've given out and everything else that everybody now expects to have. The government's just gone too far, we've given out too much," Aiden says.

Astoria box maker, Jana Krabbe is sick of the wars overseas and knows exactly where she'd make cuts.

"I would make cuts in military. I would actually make huge cuts in military spending."

But there are some things Oregonians can agree on to reduce the national debt.

63 percent support raising taxes on people with incomes over $250,000 a year.

But Democrats are much more supportive of a tax increase than Republicans.

Finally, Oregonians were asked what's more important: the economy or the environment.

Pollster, Rebecca Ball says "This is not an either/or for Oregonians. They want both environmental protection and economic growth. And they don't see that it has to be a trade-off."

Drill a little deeper into the numbers and a division does appear. 61 percent of Republicans say the economy should be the priority. 22 percent of Democrats felt the same way.

The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4 percent.

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