Poll: U.S. economic policies panned

ROCHESTER, N.Y., April 3 (UPI) -- U.S. economic policies are not winning many fans among average citizens, a Harris Poll released Thursday said.

An online survey of 1,297 U.S. adults conducted March 14 and March 24 found 70 percent of respondents rated the country's economic policies as "bad" while only 14 percent rated them as "good."

"This dissatisfaction cuts across all party lines," a Harris report said.

Twenty-six percent of Republicans rated the economic policies favorably, while only 7 percent of Democrats and 10 percent of Independents indicted the same.

Almost half of all respondents -- 48 percent -- indicated their own financial situation had declined compared with a year ago, the report said. Thirty percent indicated it had improved, a decline from a moth ago, when 35 percent indicated their financial situation had improved.

The future also looks bleak. Thirty-nine percent indicated their personal finances would be worse off six months from now, while 33 percent indicated they would improve, almost a precise switch in the figures from a month ago, the report said.