American's Economic Confidence Declines

Shocking news that in the midst of a recession, now referred as The Great Recession people are not as confident about their economic stability as they used to be! Could the banking crisis, the soaring unemployment levels and ever-rising foreclosure numbers really make people worry about their financial stability? It may take a poll to validate it, but it really is something we already knew. Why else would Depression Era Cooking be all the rage? Well, lets take a look at this CNN article titled Poll: Americans fear losing their quality of life to see the what the public-at-large feels -

Thirty-nine percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey released Thursday morning say they're very confident they'll be able to maintain their standard of living over the next year. That's down 6 points from last year.

Half of all homeowners with a mortgage say they are very confident that they can continue to meet their mortgage payments, but that is also down, by 8 points, since last year. Americans' confidence in their ability to pay other debts, such as credit cards and car loans, has also dropped in the past year.

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"As the nation's economy has gotten worse, Americans' confidence in their own economic prospects has slipped, and it is lowest when it comes to long-term goals such as saving for college or retirement," said CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "The public is fairly confident on personal matters such as paying off mortgages or other debts and on maintaining their standard of living, but the last year has seen a worrisome erosion of confidence."

The polls show a decline in keeping the current (read housing bubble) standard of living, keeping up with the mortgage payments and well as other debts.

Long term goals are even worse. Maybe referring to 401Ks and 201Ks is helping to erode that confidence. Also the fear of opening quarterly retirement statements that appear to be in continuous free-fall is also helping to erode that long-term comfort.