By the Numbers

The honeymoon is over:

Over the past few months, short-term expectations for the economy have improved dramatically, but longer-term expectations have moved in the opposite direction.

On April 15, 25% of American adults said the economy was getting better. That’s up from 19% a month earlier and 10% at the beginning of the year. The number who believe the economy is getting worse declined from 67% at the beginning of the year to 57% in mid-March and 48% on April 15.

Similar trends were found in the attitudes of American investors. Thirty-one percent (31%) of investors now say the economy is getting better while 44% say it is getting worse.

However, the number of adults who believe the economy will be stronger in five years fell to 57% in April. That’s down seven points from 64% in March. At the beginning of 2009, 62% said the economy would be stronger in five years.

Another indication of growing long-term concern is the fact that 57% now say that today’s children will not be better off than their parents. That’s an eight-point jump since March when 49% offered that pessimistic assessment.

Those are the latest numbers from Rasmussen, and they indicate that folks are already sour on Washington’s plans to tax & spend & inflate-away-the-debt. People might also be tuning in to the fact that, although they might be getting a “tax cut,” the hidden tax of inflation is going to take it away — and then some.