Gallup: Economic confidence highest in D.C.
Among the indicators Gallup tracks is the “Economic Confidence Index.” The index combines Americans’ assessments of the current condition of the economy and their view of whether it’s getting better or worse, and ranges from +100 to -100, with negative numbers indicating a worse outlook for the economy. In 2011, the index stood at -37. But not in the District of Columbia.
As you can see in the table atop this post, the residents of Washington are more optimistic than, well, anyone else. Our Index is -4. The next-most optimistic state, North Dakota, is at -26. That’s rather odd, given that North Dakota’s unemployment rate is 3.4 percent, while the District of Columbia’s is stuck above 10 percent.
One possibility is that the poll is wrong. Another is that the political nature of the economic crisis leaves residents of Washington feeling more in control than residents of other states. But the truth is that I don’t have a good explanation for this result. Do you?
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