A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll says a majority of Americans think the federal stimulus was better for Wall St. than it was for Main St.
Only 25% of respondents said the stimulus had benefited the middle class. Another third believed it had benefited the poor, while over 40% said it had benefited business executives. Fifty-four percent of respondents said the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act had helped bankers and investors.
“Opinions on the economic stimulus bill are colored by the perception that it has helped fat cats but not ordinary Americans,” said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland, while adding that it was possible the public was confusing the stimulus with the various bailout bills passed by the government since the start of the financial crisis.
This poll comes a day after another CNN poll, which showed that a majority of Americans think the stimulus helped stabilize the economy. Despite a positive view of the stimulus in the general sense, the previous poll also suggested that many Americans do not feel they have benefited directly from it.
