At a time when discussion about economic insecurity in America is once again rising, and hearings on middle class well-being have been held by several committees of the U.S. Congress, AEI senior fellow Karlyn Bowman releases a new AEI Public Opinion Study entitled “Economic Insecurity? How Worried Americans Are about Their Jobs, Personal Finances, Retirement, and Health Care.” Using available polling data, Bowman examines people's perceptions of their own well-being and that of their neighbors and friends.
How anxious are Americans? Highlights of the study appear below.
- According to the Gallup Organization, about 10 percent of Americans fear losing their job in the next year. About two in ten think it is extremely or very likely that someone in their family or someone they know could lose a job in the next six months.
- In terms of personal finances, most Americans say they are keeping up. Thirteen percent of Americans describe their personal finances as very secure and another 55 percent call them fairly secure according to a January 2007 Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll. Twenty-eight percent describe them as fairly or very shaky. In Gallup's trend data, about 10 percent are very worried about not being able to pay their rent or mortgage. Slightly more people say they are very worried about not having enough money to pay normal monthly bills.
- Polls provide mixed signals about retirement prospects. About 70 percent of Americans say they have enough money to live comfortably now. Far fewer--50 percent in 2006--say they think they will have enough money to live comfortably when they retire. In a 2006 Wall Street Journal/Harris survey, 14 percent of retired adults said their current living expenses were much higher than what they expected, and 22 percent said they were slightly higher than expected.
- Health care is an issue most Americans are anxious about. They see costs rising and no easy solutions. They are particularly concerned about having the resources to deal with a catastrophic health event. Fifty-four percent of Americans are either very or moderately worried that they will not be able to pay their medical costs should a serious illness arise. In Harvard/Robert Wood Johnson/international Communications Research (ICR) data, 20 percent of respondents said they had problems paying medical bills in the past twelve months. In a separate question, 16 percent said there was a time in the past year when they or another family member needed medical care, but did not get it. Seventy-nine percent of this group said the main reason for not seeking medical attention was financial.
To read the full study, please click http://www.aei.org/publication25668.
Karlyn Bowman is available for interviews and can be reached at 202.862.5910 or kbowman@aei.org (Assistant: 202.862.5917 or afoster@aei.org).
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