(Angus Reid Global Monitor) - Adults in the United States are clearly concerned about their financial status, according to a poll by Bloomberg and the Los Angeles Times. 50 per cent of respondents feel less secure financially than they did six months ago, and 42 per cent claim to be worse off than they were four years ago.

George W. Bush—a Republican—earned a second four-year term in the November 2004 presidential election. The next presidential election will take place on Nov. 4.

Since last year, defaults on so-called subprime mortgages—credit given to high-risk borrowers—have caused volatility in domestic and financial markets and raised concerns that the U.S. economy could fall into a recession.

Earlier this year, the U.S. government took control of mortgage lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Other financial institutions—including Bear Stearns, Merril Lynch, Lehman Brothers, American International Group (AIG) and IndyMac Bancorp—have been sold, placed under bankruptcy protection, or received emergency loans from the Federal Reserve. On Sept. 15, the stock market plummeted in North America, Europe and Asia.

Yesterday, the two presidential nominees discussed the situation. Republican Arizona senator John McCain declared: "It’s time for everyone to recall that the political process is not an end in itself, nor is it intended to serve those of us who are in the middle of it. In the Senate of the United States, our duty is to serve the people of this country. For the Congress, this is one of those moments in history when poor decisions made in haste could turn crisis into a far-reaching disaster if we do not act."

Democratic Illinois senator Barack Obama stated: "It’s outrageous that we find ourselves in a position where taxpayers bear the burden and the risk for greed and irresponsibility on Wall Street and in Washington. But we also know that a failure to act would have grave consequences for the jobs, and savings, and retirement of the American people."

American voters will elect a new president, and renew the House of Representatives and one-third of the Senate on Nov. 4.

Polling Data

Would you say you feel more or less secure financially than you did six months ago, or do you feel about as secure as you did six months ago?

Would you say that you are better off or worse off than you were four years ago, or would you say that you are about the same as you were then?

Source: Bloomberg / Los Angeles Times
Methodology: Telephone interviews with 1,428 American adults, conducted from Sept. 19 to Sept. 22, 2008. Margin of error is 3 per cent.

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