Despite nation’s woes, poll finds a hopeful tone
By: Max Jones
From: New Year's Eve, 2009
The bank account is thin, but the future looks pretty good. That is the view of many Americans who predict 2010 will be a better year, even if they fear the economy and their financial circumstances won’t improve.
Eighty-two percent are optimistic about what the new year will bring, according to the latest AP-GfK poll. That sunny outlook seems at odds with other findings.
Nearly two-thirds think their family finances will worsen or stay about the same. And fewer than half think the economy will improve in 2010.
The poll found that nearly three-fourths of Americans think 2009 was a bad year for the country, which was rocked by job losses, home foreclosures, and economic sickness. Forty-two percent rated it “very bad.’’
Behind the gloominess, however, are more hopeful views that seem to reflect optimism or, perhaps, wishful thinking.
Some 72 percent of those polled said they’re optimistic about what 2010 will bring for the country.
But in 2009, every corner of the country saw steep job losses, and the US unemployment rate stands at 10 percent. Millions saw savings or retirement accounts shrink, and many are rethinking how long they will have to work.
Americans are not optimistic about the nation’s two wars. Thirty-one percent think the situation in Afghanistan will get better, while 67 percent think it will stay the same or get worse. The results were about the same for Iraq.
From: New Year's Eve, 2009
The bank account is thin, but the future looks pretty good. That is the view of many Americans who predict 2010 will be a better year, even if they fear the economy and their financial circumstances won’t improve.
Eighty-two percent are optimistic about what the new year will bring, according to the latest AP-GfK poll. That sunny outlook seems at odds with other findings.
Nearly two-thirds think their family finances will worsen or stay about the same. And fewer than half think the economy will improve in 2010.
The poll found that nearly three-fourths of Americans think 2009 was a bad year for the country, which was rocked by job losses, home foreclosures, and economic sickness. Forty-two percent rated it “very bad.’’
Behind the gloominess, however, are more hopeful views that seem to reflect optimism or, perhaps, wishful thinking.
Some 72 percent of those polled said they’re optimistic about what 2010 will bring for the country.
But in 2009, every corner of the country saw steep job losses, and the US unemployment rate stands at 10 percent. Millions saw savings or retirement accounts shrink, and many are rethinking how long they will have to work.
Americans are not optimistic about the nation’s two wars. Thirty-one percent think the situation in Afghanistan will get better, while 67 percent think it will stay the same or get worse. The results were about the same for Iraq.
