Zogby Poll of Chamber of Commerce Execs Shows Strong Support for President Bush's Policies

(Utica, NY) - A recent online poll by Zogby International of members of the American Chamber of Commerce Executives' association (ACCE) shows strong support for President George W. Bush's policies. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 8%, with 150 chamber executives responding to the invitation to participate online March 7 - 10, 2003..

Nearly four in five (79%) rate the President's performance on the job as good or excellent, with 21% saying it is poor or fair.

Similarly, 80% say they consider Bush's economic plan to be favorable, while 17% say it is unfavorable, and 3% are not sure or not familiar with the plan.

More than four out of five execs (83%) say they support a war against Iraq, with 15% opposed. The chamber chiefs are nearly equally divided over whether a war with Iraq will help or hurt the US economy, with 37% saying it will help and 34% believing it will hurt. One fifth (20%) are not sure, and 9% say it will not have any effect on the economy.

More than two-thirds agree that Secretary of State Colin Powell made a convincing case for war with Iraq during his February 5th presentation to the United Nations. One in eight (12%) disagree, and 20% aren't sure.

About half of the chamber executives (48%) say the economy in their area is staying the same as it was two years ago, while 27% say it is expanding, and one in four (25%) say it is shrinking.

When asked what they consider the best way to increase economic growth in their region, 25% said businesses should be offered incentives other than tax cuts, 21% said infrastructure improvements would help, 20% suggested cutting business taxes, one in ten (10%) cited improvements in local quality of life, and 5% suggested cutting personal income taxes.

National issues impact local chambers. The impending war with Iraq was cited by one in four (24%) as the national issue most impeding their chamber's ability to promote local economic growth. This was followed at 18% by "government regulation," and 16% said the biggest issue was the quality of public education. One in seven (15%) decried the lack of a skilled workforce, 13% cited high taxes, and 11% said there was a lack of government support for business.

Three-fourths of the chamber executives responding to the survey were male, and 25% were female. All respondents are full-time chief executive officers of the chamber membership groups they represent. Execs from 41 states responded to the on-line poll.

Source: ACCE & Zogby International Author: Duncan J. McCully (315) 624-0200 ext. 240 Publication Date: March 11, 2003

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