Economy Has Some Thinking Twice About Spending

Some participants in the Oklahoma Poll say they are genuinely worried about the threat of recession.  The News On 6's Chris Wright reports the participants that were interviewed on Saturday are among the 73% that believe the national economy is getting worse.  They also are convinced that the situation is not going to get better anytime soon.

"Well it has gotten worse.  What they need to try to do is keep a lot of those jobs from going overseas. I have nothing against them getting their tax breaks, but we have a lot of people graduating from college that don't have a job to go to," said Tulsa resident Mary Liz Porter.

Like many in Green Country, Porter is worried about the economy.  The retiree already lives on a fixed income, but her spending habits have changed recently.  She says that spikes in gasoline prices forced her to give up her car.

"We use a lift bus because it cost too much to keep it got too much to keep my car up.  Cost too much money," said Porter.

The Chaney's in Broken Arrow now think twice before getting behind the wheel.  They say they simply can't afford to drive everywhere anymore.

"When we go out with the car we use it for lots of things.  We have cut back on gas mileage, because of the economy, because of the fuel," said Broken Arrow resident Richard Chaney.

The couple has also cut down on travel.  Mrs. Chaney is from Scotland, and they try to travel to her native land every year.  But they were unable to make it across the 'pond' in 2007.

"But even the air travel is getting so expensive.  Now we have to look for real good bargains before we can fly," said Richard Chaney.

And like the majority of participants in the Oklahoma Poll, they see themselves becoming even more frugal as the country heads towards a possible recession.

"I think the war is causing so much drain on our economy that we're just suffering.  And we're going to suffer more as it gets worse in my opinion," said Richard Chaney.

The Oklahoma Poll had 750 participants.  It has a margin of error of 3.5%.

Mary Liz Porter and the Chaney's did disagree on one topic.

Mary thinks the upcoming rebate checks are a good idea, while the Chaney's believe they won't make much of a difference.