Economy
There's little question that Americans' views of the U.S. economy remain bleak. Gallup's new economic data show more than 6 in 10 say the economy is getting worse, rather than better -- and that's just one of a number of recent measures showing rampant economic pessimism. The Conference Board's consumer confidence numbers are due out Tuesday and although I'm writing this before they have been made public, I would be very much surprised if they, too, didn't show a drop in confidence.
Why are Americans currently so sour on the economy? When asked in our mid-April economic poll to name the biggest financial problems facing the U.S. economy, Americans identified energy prices and unemployment as the most significant issues -- followed by the war in Iraq, Social Security, healthcare costs, and a general lack of money. The big change over time has been the jump in the mention of energy costs in response to this question -- up from 5% in January and February to 17% last month and 19% last week.
It's a slightly different story when we ask Americans to name the most important financial problem facing their families. Here, a general "lack of money" is essentially tied with healthcare costs at the top of the list, followed by energy costs, worry about retirement savings, having too much debt, unemployment, and college expenses.
Bottom line: A smorgasbord of financial concerns is eroding Americans' optimism, and some of these concerns -- like healthcare costs -- surely won't be alleviated in the next few months.