President Obama is set to give a big jobs speech this Thursday, but it comes at a time when new polls show the President's approval ratings at a record low.
Meantime, Starbucks' CEO Howard Schultz is launching his own campaign to put pressure on politicians to put the country ahead of the party. He argues that at the root of the government's paralysis is hyper-partisanship.
"Leadership in Washington should not dictate to all of us a direction that we know in our heart and in our soul is wrong," said Schultz.
Nationally, unemployment holds at 9% and in California, the unemployment rate wavers around 12%. Millions of mortgage holding homeowners are under water. But, Washington politicians still argue over what to do: invest or cut.
An NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that only 19% of Americans believe the country is going in the right direction, blaming President Obama. His approval rating on the economy is down to 35%. But, Americans blame Congress even more. Its approval rating over the summer fell another 9 points to just 13%.
"Nether Democrats nor Republicans are all that excited about compromise," said USC Unruh Institute Director, referring to a new USC-L.A. Times poll. "They aren't interested in putting aside their ideological priorities in order to come to solutions that could put the state and the nation back on a positive economic course."
The USC-L.A. Times poll did find that cutting the government and reducing the deficit agenda is gaining support in California. It's preferred by 49% of respondents.
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