The question in the Gallup Poll was:
“In general, are you satisfied or dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States at this time?” Only 9% said yes.
The article you linked to shows that 61% felt that “Net economic problems” were the “most important problem,” but did not provide the exact wording of that follow-on question. Identifying the economy as the most important *problem* does not necessarily mean that the economy is the reason for their *dissatisfaction*.
I would submit that many, many people, for a long, long time, have become generally dissatisfied, if not utterly dismayed, with the way things are going in America as they have witnessed the decomposition of our cultural and moral values, the intrusion of government into the tiniest details of our lives, and the substitution of indoctrination for curriculum in our high schools and colleges.
Those who are satisfied with present conditions are probably the very same people who brought about this societal decline, or benefited from it. After all, about 9% of the population controls the media, the government, and the schools.
