New Poll Shows U.S. Public Has Unfavorable Opinion of Both Wall Street and Occupy Wall Street Movement
Posted by erik devaneyA new national poll released Sunday shows neither Wall Street nor Occupy Wall Street conjuring up strong favorable impressions among the American public.
But protesters fared better than their wealthy corporate targets in the poll conducted for the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and the Boston Herald.
Among 1,005 adults surveyed, 35 percent had a favorable impression of the protest movement that began in New York City and gained support worldwide. Only 16 percent could say the same for Wall Street and large corporations.
Twenty-nine percent had a favorable impression of the tea party movement and 21 percent of government in Washington.
Knowledge Networks conducted the survey, asking participants their impressions of the four groups.
Wall Street and large corporations tied with Washington government in unpopularity, with 71 percent of those polled saying they had an unfavorable impression of big business and Washington. The tea party got a 50 percent unfavorable response and Occupy Wall Street 40 percent.
The group surveyed was selected randomly and the poll conducted online from Oct. 28 through Nov. 1. It had a margin of error of 3.8 percentage points, meaning the results could go up or down by that amount.
Last month, an Associated Press-GfK poll showed some 37 percent supported the Wall Street protesters. Fifty-eight percent said they were furious about America’s politics, up from 49 percent in January.
UMass Lowell will hold a student forum on the Occupy movement – which has grown from the Occupy Wall Street protest to public encampments in cities around the world, including Boston – on Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 12:30 p.m.
The event will feature speakers including two UMass Lowell student veterans who have participated in Occupy Boston; Jenifer Whitten-Woodring, an assistant professor of political science whose work focuses on protest, repression and media freedom; and independent survey researcher Mike Mokrzycki, who oversaw the poll.
Chancellor Marty Meehan will moderate the discussion, which will be held in O’Leary Library, Room 222, 61 Wilder St., on the university’s South Campus.
“This poll helps us better understand the repercussions of the current economic conditions. The Occupy movement comes at a time when more people are questioning the direction of our country and the motivation of its political and financial leaders,” said Prof. Frank Talty, director of the UMass Lowell Center for Public Opinion.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
(With additional information from New England Post)
Related posts:
- Occupy Wall Street releases “Declaration of the Occupation of New York City”
- Wall Street Protests Present Political Dilemma
- Occupy Augusta: Wall Street Protests Spread to Maine Capital, Dozens set up Camp at Capitol Park
- UMass Lowell-Boston Herald Poll: Two-Thirds Say Nation is Seriously Off Track
- Boston Area College Students Plan Wall St. Protest
Short URL: http://www.newenglandpost.com/?p=7367
Posted by erik devaney
on Nov 7 2011. Filed under Featured - For home page featured article, General, Politics.
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