anybody to correct my English

Hi! I would like to ask if you could correct the text I have written in English:

Survey: People Have a Feeling That Price Increase Is Much Higher Than It Really Is



People Think They Are Worse Off Than They Really Are



People’s ideas of how the cost of living increases are quite different from reality. People have a feeling the prices increased by 35 % in January; in fact they went up by 5 %.

People considered last year’s price increase, which was one of the lowest, 5 times higher.

Unemployment was estimated in a little bit more realistic view. The real figure was 19.2 % in January whereas people guessed 25 % in average. People’s opinions were found by a survey of INEKO Institute.

The realistic view was obtained only from every 9 responses. Even in the most optimistic group of people, which was represented by the young, the university-educated, businessmen, and citizens of large cities, only about 16 – 20 % estimates were accurate.

This distorted view of reality influences both people’s feelings and their growing dissatisfaction, and moreover, “has a negative impact on the economy,” said Gabriel Sipos from INEKO Institute.

The psychologist Zuzana Jarossova says people are already born with a certain ‘amount’ of pessimism.

“A born pessimist unconsciously organizes his/her life in an unsuccessful way and the loss he/she is expecting will be brought about,” says Jarossova.

Pessimism appeared right after 1989, according to Michal Vasecka, a sociologist and analyst of .

It is connected with the challenges brought by the new era.

Another reason is that we compare Slovakia with the most developed countries and not with those that are at the same level, for example with .

The fact that “the rest of the world considers us as a country which is even at a lower level than plays another role. This persuades Slovaks that there is something wrong,” says Vasecka.

Sipos blames media for this ‘bad’ mood. “The mass media forms people’s behavior and expectations. It concentrates too much on the 20 % unemployment, but says nothing at all about the inflation,” he said.

He said the extent of pessimism was not almost influenced by economic measures from the beginning of this year. “In January, 85 % of the respondents considered the economic situation of 2002 as worse or the same as in 2001. Similarly, it was estimated this way in October 2002, before the new government measures were introduced,” he explained.

Even the growth of the real income, which was the highest in the last 5 years, did not influence the pessimism of the public.