Policies since 2008 have helped wealthy, majority says

WASHINGTON, Sept. 13 (UPI) -- A majority of respondents to a September survey indicated they believed the U.S. economy is no more secure today than it was before the 2008 market crash.

The Pew Research Center said Friday that the government's response to the recovery is widely viewed as inadequate regarding both opportunities for work and security of the economic system. Most respondents also indicated they believed the response to the so-called Great Recession benefited corporations, banks and the wealthy and not average or disadvantaged citizens.

By the numbers, Pew Research said 63 percent of respondents indicated they believed the economic system was as fragile today as it was before the market imploded five years ago.

Only 33 percent indicated they believed the economy was more secure now, the research group said.

There were 1,506 responses to the Sept. 4-8 survey and 54 percent indicated a belief that household incomes had "hardly recovered at all" in the past five years.

Regarding jobs, 52 percent indicated the job market had "barely recovered."

On the other hand, 74 percent indicated they believed the stock market had recovered at least partially and 63 percent indicated they believed real estate values had improved.

Who has been helped by the response to the recession? Seventy-two percent indicated the poor had barely been helped at all, while 71 percent indicated the same about the middle-class and 67 percent indicated small business has barely been helped.

A fair or a great deal of help was provided to large banks, 69 percent of the responses indicated. Sixty-seven percent indicated that large corporations had been helped. Fifty-nine percent indicated that the wealthy had been helped a fair amount or a great deal by the government since 2008.

President Barack Obama's approval rating has "shown little change this year," Pew researchers said.

In the latest poll, 43 percent indicated they approved of the president's economic policies, while 52 percent indicated disapproval.

The results of the survey carry a margin of error of plus and minus 2.9 percentage points, Pew Research said.