Capital Region Scene

Siena poll detects some economic optimism

New Yorkers might not think the state’s economy is looking great, but they think things are looking up.

According to a Siena Research Institute poll released this week, 55 percent of New Yorkers believe the state is heading in the right direction, even though less than a quarter think the fiscal conditions currently are good or better.

“By a strong 55-34 percent margin, voters say New York is headed on the right track, not in the wrong direction, the highest margin ever in a Siena poll, and up from 50-40 percent last month,” said Siena pollster Steve Greenberg in a statement. “An overwhelming majority of downstaters feel the state is on the right track, as do a small plurality of upstaters.

There is a divide in the right direction numbers between voters who identify as Democrat, coming in at 60 percent, and Republicans, with just half. The more stark divide is between conservative and liberal voters, with a slim plurality of conservatives feeling the state is going in the wrong direction and nearly 80 percent of liberals liking how the state is going.

Somewhat surprising is the number of “union households” that are encouraged by the direction of New York, as the state is currently gripped by a very anti-union fervor that included a new pension tier and a lot of local municipalities blaming their budget woes on organized labor related costs. With all of this going on, 48 percent of union households like the direction and only 40 percent don’t.

The positive feelings about the state, though, don’t transfer to the country as a whole. “A majority of New Yorkers continues to believe the country is headed in the wrong direction by a 54-38 percent margin. While a bare majority of Democrats think the country is on the right track, as do a plurality of New York City voters, more than three-quarters of Republicans and roughly six in ten independents, downstate suburbanites and upstaters say the country is headed in the wrong direction,” Greenberg said.

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