Are You Seeing Red Yet?

Being a personal finance writer means reading and writing about the state of the economy on a daily basis, at a time when there’s not a whole lot of good news out there. Inflation fears one month, deflation the next. Falling prices following closely on the heels of rising prices. Rescue plans in assorted flavors. Jaw-dropping budget deficits. Job losses, foreclosures and debt. And the many incredibly resourceful ways Americans are cutting back or doing without.

Most days you can count on me to be outraged over well-compensated bank and insurance executives getting taxpayer-funded handouts, scared about what lies ahead and certainly depressed about my withering 401(k) balance.

There’s always a survey to tell us how we’re thinking, and now there’s a new one by the Pew Research Center that tells me that what I’m feeling is remarkably in sync with the rest of the country. According to the results of a November survey released yesterday, pollsters have ranked the emotions Americans most frequently feel in the pit of their stomachs when they read the latest economic news:

Angry (49%)
Scared (43%)
Confused (37%)
Depressed (35%)

And, inexplicably, 30% are feeling “optimistic.” Huh?

Perhaps not surprisingly, people age 65 and older are more likely than any other age group to feel angry when watching the evening news report. I guess they’re thinking that the secure and worry-free retirement they worked so hard for is slipping from their grasp, and, being past normal working age, there’s not much they can do about it now.

What’s going on in your mind when you tune in to your local news report?

Tags: Economy, economy poll, economy polls, Personal Finances

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