JUDY WOODRUFF:

By many measures, the U.S. economy seems to have picked up steam this year. And the most recent jobs report saw the best results since January 2012.

But many Americans say they are still doubtful about economic opportunity and the ability to move up the ladder. In fact, a new poll by The New York Times found the public is more pessimistic than it was right after the financial collapse. Just 64 percent of those surveyed said they still believed it was possible to become wealthy if they started out poor.

That's a pronounced drop from 2009 and the lowest level in two decades. The poll also sampled opinions with some surprising answers on a range of economic issues.

Andrew Ross Sorkin, a columnist for The New York Times and editor at large of its DealBook section, joins us now. He also co-hosts Squawk Box on CNBC.

Welcome back to the NewsHour.

You know, we have been seeing, I guess, coming off the midterm elections that Americans don't feel good about the economy, despite the statistics that say otherwise. But this poll that The Times has done suggests a much deeper, long-term kind of pessimism.

How do you explain it?