Declining Standard of Living Worries Two-Thirds of Americans
More than six in 10 report financial hardship caused by higher gas prices.
May 14, 2008 — -- Concerns about a declining standard of living have spiked in the last six months, with worries about inflation overall outstripping distress -- itself high -- about rising gasoline prices. Four in 10 Americans say they've cut back on their driving, and three in 10 report trouble paying other household bills.
Sixty-eight percent in this ABC News/Washington Post poll say they're worried about maintaining their standard of living, up 17 points just since December. Women are more concerned than men (74 percent vs. 62 percent), the poor more so than the wealthy.
On gas, more than six in 10 report financial hardship caused by higher prices at the pump, and 41 percent say they've cut back on their driving to deal with it. While that's far and away the leading strategy, others say they're buying or saving up for smaller cars, cutting back on other expenses or shopping around for cheaper gas.
These economic jitters are reflected in ABC's separate weekly measure of consumer confidence. Seventy-seven percent of Americans now say the economy's getting worse, matching the record high, set in late 1990, in polls dating to 1981. Ratings of current economic conditions are at a 14-year low.
These views in turn have a political impact: As reported Monday, 82 percent say the country's seriously off on the wrong track, the highest since mid-1992 and a point from the record in polls since 1973. And George W. Bush's job approval rating has hit a career low 31 percent, a level unseen since Jimmy Carter in 1980.
INFLATION: The federal government issues its monthly inflation report this morning, and prices clearly are a concern to average Americans. While 20 percent cite the price of gasoline as the single most important economic issue facing their families, more, 32 percent, say it's rising prices more generally.
And while concern about gasoline prices is up a scant 4 points since January, concern about inflation more generally has risen by 9 points, supplanting worry about health care costs.
Related Stories
ABC News Live