November 3, 2003
Report & Analysis · Other Poll Releases
When Georgians were asked in Summer 2003 to name the most important problem facing the country, the economy won out over terrorism for the first time since September 2001. Concern about terrorism dropped 30 points from 44 percent in March to only 14 percent in August. Thirty percent of Georgians said the economy is the most important problem, while only 14 percent cited terrorism-the second most cited problem.
The Peach State Poll-a statewide quarterly survey of public opinion conducted by the University of Georgia's Carl Vinson Institute of Government-also finds that 73 percent of Georgians rate the economy as either fair (52 percent) or poor (22 percent). Only 31 percent of those surveyed believe that the economy is getting better, while 47 percent believe it is getting worse.
Other survey results:
* African-Americans in Georgia continue to express greater concern about the economy than do whites. Twenty-nine percent of whites, compared with only14 percent of African-Americans, rate the economy better than fair. In addition, two-thirds of all African-American respondents (67 percent) believe that economic conditions are getting worse.
* The economy also ranks higher as a concern among Democrats than among Republicans. Thirty-four percent of Democrats cite the economy as the most important problem, compared with 23 percent of Republicans. On the other hand, 20 percent of Republicans cite terrorism, compared with only 10 percent of Democrats.
* Despite economic concerns, a majority of Georgians (55 percent) are satisfied with the way things are going in their state. In general, whites are more satisfied than nonwhites (64 percent to 39 percent), men are more satisfied than are women (61 percent to 49 percent), and 18-25 year-olds are more satisfied than are other age groups (66 percent to 53 percent).
* On another topic, 59 percent of Georgians strongly oppose increasing government revenue in these tight budget times by raising property taxes. The public is far less opposed to raising fees paid for licenses and increasing the taxes that businesses pay.
These data are taken from a Peach State Poll survey conducted between August 8 and August 17, 2003. The poll included 804 telephone interviews of randomly selected adults in Georgia. For a sample of this size, the margin of error at the 95 percent confidence level is +/- 3.5 percent.
