Washington Week: Student Voices (O)

U. Wisconsin poll: Most young Wis. residents worried over state economy
By Charles Brace
The Daily Cardinal U. Wisconsin
April 30, 2008

Young Wisconsin residents are significantly worried about the state’s economy, with data Tuesday showing the feelings are likely to continue.

Almost 75 percent of residents ages 18 to 29 said the economy is doing poorly in Wisconsin, more so than any other age group, according to a recent University of Wisconsin Survey Center poll.

Young residents were also more likely to feel the economy would get worse in the coming year, with 46 percent stating financial problems statewide would continue to grow.

Chad Kniss, director of field operations for the poll, said the disparity between young respondents and other age groups might be due to the sample size of the poll.

However, he said the poll showed a surprisingly deep amount of pessimism about the economy. Young people are often out of college and struggling to find their first job, with the poll showing they are the most worried, according to Kniss.

The poll also said young people were more worried about not being able to pay their bills than other age groups.

Kniss said the dominant economic issue was the price of gas, with over 90 percent stating it was a problem across all age groups.

He said residents thought gas was an issue no matter where they lived in the state or their economic background, with it increasing as a major issue in recent months.

General Motors stated rising gas prices and slow economic growth were largely responsible for almost 1,000 workers being fired recently at a Janesville plant in southern Wisconsin.

Gov. Jim Doyle said in a statement that his administration would give worker relief grants to the community in response to the cuts, along with scheduling worker orientation programs to help people find new jobs.

Milwaukee-based motorcycle company Harley-Davidson announced similar amounts of cuts in the past two weeks.

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