Poll: Most pan economy, ability to move up

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PRINCETON, N.J., Jan. 23 (UPI) -- Not only are Americans dissatisfied with the economy, they also say it's a lot tougher to advance from one economic class to another, two polls indicate.

A Gallup poll released Monday indicated Americans are dissatisfied with the state of the nation in several specific issue areas -- the economy, the size and power of the federal government, and the moral and ethical climate in the country.

Americans' satisfaction with the economy dropped by 23 percentage points since January 2008, the last presidential election year, to 13 percent, the Jan. 5-8 Gallup poll indicated, representing the lowest rate of satisfaction and the biggest drop seen for any of the two dozen issues measured in the survey.

Slightly fewer than three in 10 Americans said they are satisfied with the moral and ethical climate and the size and power of the federal government, down from about four in 10 in 2008, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

Results for the Gallup poll are based on telephone interviews with 1,011 adults conducted Jan. 5-8, 2011. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.

In a poll by The Hill, nearly two-thirds of people questioned said it is either "somewhat" or "much" harder than it once was to move up in economic class. Thirty-three percent said it was somewhat harder and another 33 percent said it much harder.

Twenty-one percent of likely voters said they thought it is somewhat or much easier to change economic class.

Results for The Hill survey are based on a nationwide telephone survey of 1,000 likely voters conducted Thursday. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.