THE LOCAL economy is in a "bad shape", according to a significant number of Jamaicans who were surveyed in a recent Gleaner-commissioned poll.
It found that an overwhelming 84 per cent of those canvassed indicated that the economy is in a mess, despite Government's continuing assertions to the contrary.
"This perspective was reflected right across all the segments included in the sample," said pollster Don Anderson in his analysis.
The poll, conducted from September 15 to 24, found that a third of those persons believe the state of the economy is a result of too much corruption within the leadership of the country.
"It is interesting to note that the persons who were most vocal in terms of this negative perspective of the economy were persons living in St. Ann, Westmoreland and Hanover," said the pollster, whose team of researchers from Market Research Services Ltd. conducted interviews with a nationally representative group of 1,000 persons 18 years old and over. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 per cent.
Last week Sunday, during the polling period, Prime Minister P.J. Patterson told a gathering of People's National Party supporters at the party's 65th annual conference in Kingston, that the economy had begun to "spurt" in 2002 after years of weakness and the effects of the 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States.
"For the last three quarters, October to December of 2002, January to March of 2003, and April to June 2003, growth was at the level of three per cent or above," he said. It was a view that he had previously proffered during a September 16 meeting with members of the private sector.
But, according to the poll, 28 per cent of those who share the pessimistic perspective on the economy cite Government's mismanagement as the root cause, 23 per cent blame unemployment and 14 per cent place the weight of responsibility on crime.
At the same time, a minuscule 3.5 per cent attribute the nation's economic doldrums to a high tax rate, giving weight to the view that Jamaicans are more concerned with what their tax dollars are doing than the taxes themselves.
Of the four per cent of individuals who consider the economy in good shape, 34 per cent pointed to good management, 17 per cent attributed their optimistic view to the resilience/creativity of the Jamaican people, while 12.2 per cent cited the government's efforts to stabilise the local dollar against its United States counterpart.
TOMORROW: THE PEOPLE'S VERDICT ON OMAR'S BUDGET.
