Economic Confidence Remains Low Throughout the United States
Most Americans remain worried about the current state of their country’s economy and are becoming more pessimistic about the future, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
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(08/25/10) -
More people think the economy will decline further compared to last month; many still worry about the safety of investments and savings.
Most Americans remain worried about the current state of their country’s economy and are becoming more pessimistic about the future, a new Angus Reid Public Opinion poll has found.
In the online survey of a representative national sample of 1,011 American adults, 85 per cent of respondents say economic conditions are “bad” or “very bad” at the moment, unchanged since the July Economic Panorama.
A majority of respondents in the United States (58%) also describe their personal financial situation as “poor” or “very poor”.
While just under a fifth of Americans (18%) express optimistically that the economy will recover in the next six months, the proportion of respondents thinking the opposite—that it will continue to decline—has increased by five points to 31 per cent.
Most people think the recession will not end until next year (20%) or after 2011 (45%).
Concerns, Inflation and Debt
Almost half of the American population remains worried about the safety of their personal investments (47%) and savings (44%). Fear of unemployment is also high at 46 per cent, along with fear of being unable to meet mortgage or rent payments (41%). Fewer—yet still a significant proportion of Americans—report concerns over their employer running into serious financial trouble (29%).
Perceptions of inflation remain troubling as well. Two thirds of respondents expect gas prices (67%, -6) and grocery prices (also 67%) to go up; 37 per cent say new cars will cost more. While 22 per cent think the real estate market will recover, 31 per cent think home prices will continue to slide. For the most part, Americans expect the price of televisions to remain stable (41%).
Paying debt remains a priority, but extra cash would also go to paying daily expenses. If respondents suddenly got $1,000 in extra money, they would allocate $306 to pay down debt; $264 to cover daily expenses; $215 for savings; $80 to spend in personal items; $76 towards making a big purchase; $30 to invest in mutual funds; and $29 to invest in individual stocks.
Political Leadership
President Barack Obama remains the most trusted leader to handle the economy (43% -3), followed by the Democratic Party (36%, -2), Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke (30%, +1), the Republican Party (31%, +1), and House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi (27%, -1).
The governing Democratic Party is preferred over the Republican Party to end the recession (35% to 29%), and to create jobs (39% to 31%). The Republicans are seen as the more capable party to rein in the national debt (34% to 28% for the Democrats), and to control inflation (33% to 30%).
The U.S. Economy Compared to Others
The proportion of Americans who think that their country’s economy is in worse shape than the economies of other industrialized nations has increased since last month.
Many Americans think that their country’s economy is doing worse than those of China (50%, +6), Canada (33%, +3), and Japan (34%, +2). About a quarter of respondents also think the U.S. compares poorly against Australia (26%, +3) and Germany (25%, +3). About a fifth of respondents (19%, +3) think the U.S. is in a worse situation than the United Kingdom.
