November 13, 2008 - Americans' Dissatisfaction Continues At All-Time High, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Almost Two-Thirds Will Spend Less On Holiday Gifts Word format American voters can't get no satisfaction as 82 percent say they are "somewhat dissatisfied" or "very dissatisfied" with the way things are going in the nation today, while 16 percent are "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied," according to a Quinnipiac University national poll released today. This dissatisfaction matches an all-time high from a May 15 poll by the independent Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, in which 17 percent said they are satisfied. No one thinks the nation's economy is "excellent," and only 4 percent say it is "good." Another 37 percent say it is "not so good" and 58 percent say it is "poor." This 95 percent negative rating is an all-time low. The economy will get better in the next year, 40 percent say, while 19 percent say it will get worse and 38 percent say it will stay the same. A total of 56 percent of voters say their personal finances are "excellent" or "good," while 43 percent say "not so good" or "poor." Fifty percent of voters say they are worse off financially than they were one year ago, with 27 percent who say they are better off and 22 percent who say things are the same. Their personal finances will get better in the next year, 38 percent say, as 12 percent say they will get worse and 47 percent say they will stay the same. And 62 percent of American voters say that because of the economy they will cut back on buying holiday gifts. "Happy days aren't here again, at least not yet. Americans plan to zip up their wallets in an economy they rate as terrible," said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. Losing their job is the biggest financial worry for 31 percent of American voters. This concern is greatest, 37 percent, among voters 18 to 34 years old, and lowest, 27 percent, among voters over 55. Other financial concerns are: 30 percent worry most about being able to afford retirement, including 38 percent of voters 35 to 54 years old; 9 percent worry most about losing their health insurance; 9 percent worry most about losing their home. "Almost a third of Americans worry about losing their jobs and another third worry about not having enough money for retirement," Carroll said. Discussing other cutbacks because of the economy: 48 percent say they are likely to cut back on charitable giving; 62 percent say they are likely to cut back on vacations; 39 percent say they are likely to cut back heating or cooling their home; 62 percent say they are likely to cut back on entertainment or leisure activities; 64 percent say they are likely to dine out less. By margins of three to 10 points, women are more conservative in their spending plans than men. "Christmas gifts, vacations, entertainment, dining out - Americans plan to cut back on all of them in these economically worrisome times" Carroll said. "It's nice to see charitable giving is near the bottom of the cutback list." From November 6 -10, Quinnipiac University surveyed 2,210 registered voters nationwide, with a margin of error of +/- 2.1 percentage points. The Quinnipiac University Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, Ph.D., conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio and nationwide as a public service and for research. For more data or RSS feed - http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, or call (203) 582-5201. 28. In general, how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Very satisfied 2% 2% 2% 1% 1% 2% 1% 2% Smwht satisfied 14 20 13 12 16 13 14 18 Smwht dissatisfied 38 46 31 39 37 39 39 34 Very dissatisfied 44 31 51 48 44 44 44 40 DK/NA 2 2 3 - 2 2 2 6 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Very satisfied 1% 2% 2% 2% 2% Smwht satisfied 17 13 14 15 13 Smwht dissatisfied 38 40 34 36 43 Very dissatisfied 41 44 47 45 41 DK/NA 2 1 3 2 1 TREND: In general how satisfied are you with the way things are going in the nation today? Are you very satisfied, somewhat satisfied, somewhat dissatisfied, or very dissatisfied? VERY & SMWHT.. High Low Nov 13 May 15 Nov 22 Jun 1 Mar 2 Dec 11 Nov 13 2008 2008 2006 2006 2006 2001 2008 Very satisfied 2 2 5 6 5 21 2 Smwht satisfied 14 15 32 32 33 47 14 Smwht dissatisfied 38 37 33 33 30 19 38 Very dissatisfied 44 45 28 29 31 10 44 DK/NA 2 1 1 1 1 3 2 32. Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as - Excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Excellent - - - - - - - - Good 4 7 2 3 4 4 4 4 Not so good 37 49 31 37 39 36 37 40 Poor 58 44 65 60 57 59 58 56 DK/NA 1 - 1 - 1 1 1 1 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Excellent - - - - - Good 5 4 3 5 2 Not so good 41 38 34 39 35 Poor 53 58 62 56 63 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 - TREND: Would you describe the state of the nation's economy these days as: Excellent, good, not so good, or poor? EXLNT & GOOD.. High Low Nov 13 May 15 May 5 Dec 10 Oct 29 Dec 10 Nov 13 2008 2008 2004 2003 2003 2003 2008 Excellent - 1 2 3 2 3 - Good 4 12 36 37 29 37 4 No so good 37 44 40 42 45 42 37 Poor 58 43 21 16 23 21 58 DK/NA 1 - 1 1 1 1 1 33. During the next 12 months, do you think the economic conditions in the United States will get better, get worse, or stay about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Get better 40% 29% 53% 36% 38% 42% 37% 59% Get worse 19 27 12 21 22 17 22 7 Stay the same 38 41 33 39 37 38 38 32 DK/NA 3 2 3 4 3 3 3 3 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Get better 40% 35% 44% 42% 36% Get worse 19 22 16 18 22 Stay the same 40 40 35 37 40 DK/NA 1 2 5 4 2 TREND: During the next 12 months, do you think the economic conditions in the United States will get better, get worse, or stay about the same? SAYING BETTER High Low Nov 13 May 5 Dec 10 Oct 29 Sep 17 Apr 17 Feb 2008 2004 2003 2003 2003 2003 2003 BetteR 40 39 48 40 38 50 30 Worse 19 18 14 19 20 13 26 Stay the same 38 37 36 38 39 36 39 DK/NA 3 6 2 3 3 2 5 34. Would you describe the state of your own personal finances these days as: Excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Excellent 8% 10% 5% 8% 8% 7% 7% 6% Good 48 59 43 47 52 44 52 36 Not so good 28 23 31 27 26 30 27 30 Poor 15 6 20 15 13 16 13 27 DK/NA 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Excellent 6% 9% 7% 6% 10% Good 50 49 45 44 58 Not so good 26 28 31 30 24 Poor 17 14 13 18 6 DK/NA 1 1 3 2 1 TREND: Would you describe the state of your own personal finances these days as: Excellent, good, not so good, or poor? Nov 13 Feb 4 Nov 13 Dec 11 2008 2003 2002 2001 Excellent 8 8 8 10 Good 48 52 54 54 Not so good 28 28 27 26 Poor 15 11 10 8 DK/NA 2 1 1 2 35. Would you say that you are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Better off 27% 34% 22% 28% 29% 25% 26% 25% Worse off 50 43 55 50 47 52 49 56 SAME(VOL) 22 22 22 21 22 22 24 18 DK/NA 1 - 1 2 1 1 1 1 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Better off 39% 29% 17% 27% 27% Worse off 45 51 52 50 50 SAME(VOL) 16 19 29 22 21 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 TREND: Would you say that you are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? Nov 13 May 5 Dec 10 Feb 4 Nov 13 2008 2004 2003 2003 2002 Better off 27 43 43 36 38 Worse off 50 34 36 38 39 SAME(VOL) 22 22 20 25 22 DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 36. During the next 12 months, do you think your own personal finances will get better, get worse, or stay about the same? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Get better 38% 29% 44% 38% 40% 36% 33% 61% Get worse 12 16 8 13 13 11 14 3 Stay the same 47 53 45 46 43 50 51 30 DK/NA 3 2 3 3 4 3 3 5 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Get better 50% 38% 29% 39% 35% Get worse 7 15 12 11 14 Stay the same 42 45 53 46 49 DK/NA 2 1 6 3 2 TREND: During the next 12 months, do you think your own personal finances will get better, get worse, or stay about the same? Nov 13 Feb 4 Nov 13 Dec 11 2008 2003 2002 2001 Get better 38 39 45 44 Get worse 12 11 8 5 Stay the same 47 48 45 49 DK/NA 3 2 2 1 37. Considering the current state of the economy are you likely to cut back on - buying holiday gifts or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 62% 59% 65% 59% 56% 66% 62% 61% No 36 40 32 39 41 32 37 34 DK/NA 2 1 3 2 2 2 2 4 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Yes 58% 66% 59% 62% 61% No 41 32 37 36 37 DK/NA 1 2 3 3 1 38. Considering the current state of the economy are you likely to cut back on - charitable contributions or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 48% 43% 52% 49% 45% 51% 48% 52% No 48 55 45 48 51 46 49 45 DK/NA 3 2 4 3 4 3 3 2 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Yes 42% 53% 48% 51% 41% No 54 44 49 45 57 DK/NA 4 3 3 4 2 39. Considering the current state of the economy are you likely to cut back on - vacation plans or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 62% 54% 67% 64% 58% 65% 60% 69% No 34 42 29 32 39 29 36 27 DK/NA 4 4 4 4 3 5 4 4 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Yes 64% 65% 58% 61% 65% No 33 32 37 34 33 DK/NA 3 3 5 5 2 40. Considering the current state of the economy are you likely to cut back on - the heating or cooling of your home or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 39% 38% 42% 38% 35% 44% 39% 43% No 58 61 55 59 62 54 59 54 DK/NA 3 2 3 2 3 2 2 3 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Yes 40% 41% 36% 42% 34% No 57 57 61 56 64 DK/NA 3 2 3 3 2 41. Considering the current state of the economy are you likely to cut back on - entertainment or leisure activities like going out to movies, shows, or sporting events or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 62% 62% 65% 58% 60% 63% 62% 63% No 33 32 31 37 35 32 33 32 DK/NA 5 6 5 5 5 6 6 5 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Yes 66% 67% 53% 61% 64% No 33 29 39 33 34 DK/NA 2 4 8 7 2 42. Considering the current state of the economy are you likely to cut back on - dining out or not? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Yes 64% 61% 67% 63% 61% 67% 63% 65% No 33 36 30 35 35 31 34 30 DK/NA 3 3 3 2 3 3 3 5 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Yes 66% 70% 56% 64% 65% No 33 27 40 33 33 DK/NA 1 3 4 3 1 43. As you think about your own financial situation, which of the following economic issues worries you the most right now - A)That you or someone in your immediate family will lose their job. B)That you will lose your health insurance. C) That you won't be able to afford retirement. D) That you will lose your home? Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom Wht Blk Lose job 31% 31% 34% 29% 28% 33% 29% 35% Lose health insurance 9 6 10 10 9 9 8 10 Afford retirement 30 33 26 31 31 29 32 28 Lose home 9 6 10 9 9 9 8 8 OTHER(VOL) 7 7 6 7 7 7 7 6 DK/NA 15 17 13 14 17 13 16 13 EDUCATION..... AGE IN YEARS...... Nocoll College 18-34 35-54 55+ degree degree Lose job 37% 30% 27% 30% 34% Lose health insurance 7 8 12 10 6 Afford retirement 28 38 22 28 35 Lose home 14 8 5 10 5 OTHER(VOL) 4 7 9 7 6 DK/NA 9 10 24 15 14
