Seventy Percent Say Economy Worsening

From Gallup comes this latest poll showing that seven out of ten Americans believes the economy is getting worse:

"The perception that the U.S. economy is getting worse has now reached as high a level as at any point since 2001. Seventy percent of Americans say conditions are getting worse. While this is statistically similar to the 67% saying this last month, it is up 10 points since April."

Ten points since April is a big jump in a small amount of time, and it's a great indicator of the economic conditions for the majority of the country. Don't forget that 2001 was a year of recession, and although 9/11 played a role in the economic recession, it didn't play a role in the pessimistic view people held back then:

"The last time Americans held such negative views was in early September 2001, just before the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11."

We shall see if the majority of Americans are right or wrong about the economy in the coming months. Either seventy percent of the population influences markets or thirty percent does. So far, it's been the thirty percent.