New Yahoo! Finance Survey Indicates Collapse of the "American Dream"
Survey reveals an alarming number of Americans are not
retirement-ready and many have no college savings for their children
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The declining economy and perceptions of the misuse of government power
have caused many to lose hope in the American Dream, according to a new
survey from Yahoo! Finance, the Web's leading financial resource.
Released today, the survey revealed that while 53% of Americans between
the ages of 18 and 64 still view America as the land of opportunity, 41%
feel the American Dream is out of reach.
Other key findings include:
-
Poor Retirement Savings: 37% of adults overall (and 41% of
women) have NO retirement savings. While most adults are confident
they will be able to retire, 38% plan to live off Social Security.
-
Lack of Confidence in the Economy & Government: Consumer
sentiment continues to be pessimistic, with 63% of adults and 72% of
those over 55 thinking the U.S. economy is getting worse. Only
about one-quarter of the public is confident that President Obama and
Congress can fix the financial crisis.
-
Dwindling College Funds: About one-third of adults plan to
support their kids until they finish college, but over half admit to
not having any college savings for their children. Shockingly, of
those who do have their children's college savings in place, 22% have
used them for other expenditures such as groceries and mortgage/rent
payments. Seven percent admit they used their child's college funds on
vacations and shopping.
-
Job Security Worries: 90% of adults are concerned with current
unemployment levels, with 62% indicating they are very
concerned for their own job security. Parents are also very worried
about how their children will fare, with 91% reporting concern about
the economic outlook for their kids' generation and 92% reporting
concern over future job opportunities for their children.
-
Personal Financial Position: Most adults (53%) rate their
financial position as only "satisfactory," with 32% saying it's
"poor," and over one-third of adults (34%) have less savings now than
they did last year.
-
Better for the Children?: Parents, especially moms and younger
parents, are optimistic about their kids' future financial well-being;
45% believe their kids will be better off than they are. However, 43%
worry that their kids will not be able to afford to send their own
children to college.
"The grind-it-out recovery continues. The underlying trends are moving
in a positive direction, and, in many instances, are better than most
people think and expect. But there's an overwhelming sense of
fragility," said Daniel Gross, economics editor at Yahoo! Finance. "As
the mood sours, the U.S. economy continues to grind its way slowly, even
if many people feel as though the recession hasn't ended."
Full survey available by request or to read more about this survey,
please visit: http://yhoo.it/thZH9W
About the Survey:
Yahoo! partnered with Ipsos OTX MediaCT to conduct the Yahoo! Finance
Survey in September of 2011. We interviewed n=1, 500 Americans ages 18
to 64 representative of the U.S. online population via an online
quantitative survey.
About Yahoo!:
Yahoo! is the premier digital media company, creating deeply personal
digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected
to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. And
Yahoo!'s unique combination of Science + Art + Scale connects
advertisers to the consumers who build their businesses. Yahoo! is
headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the
pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.com)
or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).
Yahoo! is the trademark and/or registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc.
All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their
respective owners.
Yahoo! Consumer Communications
Becky Auslander, 212-381-6909
beckya@yahoo-inc.com
Source: Yahoo!
News Provided by Acquire Media
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