Connecticut residents have fared worse in the current recession than the rest of the country, but a majority of them still feel they’re better off today than they were four years ago, a new poll by the University of Connecticut and the Hartford Courant shows.
Just how folks in Connecticut view their economic circumstances is partly framed by their political affiliations, the poll indicates.
“While 42 percent of likely voters say they’re worse off today than four year ago, and 35 percent say they’re better off, those perceptions differ sharply among those who identify with either major political party,” according to the blog UConn Today. “While 62 percent of Democrats say they’re better off today, just 9 percent of Republicans feel the same way.”
More than half of the voters surveyed said they’ve changed how they shop for groceries, and nearly a quarter reported having to sell something valuable to make ends meet during the downturn, the Hartford Courant reports.
Overall, the poll of 517 likely voters, taken this month, shows a bleaker economic picture in Connecticut than the rest of the country, the Courant says.
And our interpretation of how we’ve fared in the recession has split not only along political lines, but along racial lines as well.
“The poll found that 78 percent of African-American likely voters say they’re better off today than four years ago, while only 26 percent of white voters said the same. And while 45 percent of likely voters who attend religious services once a week or more say they’re worse off today, just 31 percent of voters who never attend religious services have the same impression,” UConn Today reported.
