The FINANCIAL — Winter is barely a week old, and more than one-third of Americans already say the season is worse than it has been in recent years.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 36% of Adults have already experienced a heavy snowstorm this winter. Fifty-eight percent (58%) have not.
Similarly, 37% say winter is worse in their area this year than it has been in recent years. Fifty-six percent (56%) disagree and say that isn’t the case.
It’s important to note that the survey was conducted while the mid-Atlantic and New England states were digging themselves out of an unusually large snowfall that began the day after Christmas.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and New Jersey Governor Chris Christie are among the government officials who have been criticized for their handling of the snow cleanup.
But Americans generally give good marks to the way local authorities have responded. Among those who have experienced a heavy snowstorm this winter 71% rate the way local authorities dealt with that storm as good or excellent. Only 11% give local authorities poor marks for their storm response.
Women are more critical than men of how local authorities have responded to snowstorms in their area this year. Adults ages 18 to 29 are much more positive about the local response than their elders.
Democrats are far more likely than Republicans and adults not affiliated with either party to rate the local response as poor.
Government workers are more critical of the performance of local government in dealing with the storm than are workers in private sector.
Last winter, 64% of Americans already rated that season as worse than recent years.
Last February, 43% of Likely U.S. Voters rated the performance of their local government as tops compared to its counterparts on the state and federal level. Just 14% thought the federal government does a better job, while 19% said state government is better than the other two.
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