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Poll finds high anxiety on US economy this month

(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-10-20 21:12

A Republican, Haste said he sees government bailouts such as the $700 billion plan passed by Congress this month and the Treasury Department's plans to buy shares in major banks as necessary evils. Overall, 54 percent said they approved of the rescue plan, 28 percent disapproved and the rest had no opinion.

The poll shows how financial worries have permeated all corners of society, with some hit harder than others:

Chart showing opinion poll ratings for US presidential candidates. [Agencies]

Though about one-third worry about financing a child's college education, six in 10 people under age 45 are anxious about it.

53 percent worry they will have to work longer because their retirement savings have dwindled, and 66 percent of people in their 40s feel that way.

One-third worry about losing their job, but nearly half in their 30s and 40s do.

Related readings:  Bruised US economy likely to limp into next year  Obama, McCain clash on economy in final debate  NY stock prices lose 8 percent amid pessimism about economy  Bernanke says US economy faces big threat

Forty-six percent of whites and 62 percent of blacks worry about making mortgage and credit card payments.

Sixty-six percent overall are concerned about facing major medical bills, including 78 percent of unmarried women.

Public approval of both President Bush and Congress has followed the downward spiral of financial markets, the survey showed.

The poll found that 25 percent said they approved of the way Bush was handling his presidency, down from 32 percent in August. Remarkably, just 3 percent said they strongly approve of the job Bush is doing, compared with 51 percent strongly disapproving.

Just 11 percent said they approved of the job Congress is doing, while virtually no one gave lawmakers strong approval.

Anderson Lee, 21, a caregiver from Bowling Green, Ohio, is among those saying the country is heading the right way.

"Certainly there are some problems we're facing now with the economy and overseas issues," Lee said. "But we've faced larger problems in the past. That spirit of working together and working to make the country better will drive us through the problems we're facing."

Donna Gasior, 43, a professor at a Detroit-area community college, said the stock market tumble is having a "huge effect because pretty much everyone's retirement funds are in the stock market." She said she believes she has time to recoup but her 69-year-old mother "gets a majority of her income just from investments."

A Democrat, Gasior said that "mismanagement and policies have really come home to roost with the economic collapse we're seeing. I think things have been on the wrong track for a long time."

The AP-Yahoo News poll included 841 likely voters, was conducted from Oct. 3-13, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points. Included were interviews with 373 Democrats, 252 Republicans and 214 independents.

The poll was conducted over the Internet by Knowledge Networks, which initially contacted people using traditional telephone polling methods and followed with online interviews. People chosen for the study who had no Internet access were given it for free.

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