Shame to the Gas Guzzling Pigs.
http://abcnews.go.com/PollingUnit/story?id=4846346&page=1
Declining Standard of Living Worries Two-Thirds of Americans
More Than Six in 10 Americans Re****t Financial Hard****p From Prices at
the Pump
ANALYSIS by PEYTON M. CRAIGHILL and GARY LANGER
May 14, 2008 —
Concerns about a declining standard of living have spiked in the last
six months, with worries about inflation overall outstripping distress
-- itself high -- about rising gasoline prices. Four in 10 Americans say
they've cut back on their driving, and three in 10 re****t trouble paying
other household bills.
Sixty-eight percent in this ABC News/Wa****ngton Post poll say they're
worried about maintaining their standard of living, up 17 points just
since December. Women are more concerned than men (74 percent vs. 62
percent), the poor more so than the wealthy.
Click here for a PDF with charts and full questionnaire.
On gas, more than six in 10 re****t financial hard****p caused by higher
prices at the pump, and 41 percent say they've cut back on their driving
to deal with it. While that's far and away the leading strategy, others
say they're buying or saving up for smaller cars, cutting back on other
expenses or shopping around for cheaper gas.
These economic jitters are reflected in ABC's separate weekly measure of
consumer confidence. Seventy-seven percent of Americans now say the
economy's getting worse, matching the record high, set in late 1990, in
polls dating to 1981. Ratings of current economic conditions are at a
14-year low.
These views in turn have a political impact: As re****ted Monday, 82
percent say the country's seriously off on the wrong track, the highest
since mid-1992 and a point from the record in polls since 1973. And
George W. Bush's job approval rating has hit a career low 31 percent, a
level unseen since Jimmy Carter in 1980.
INFLATION: The federal government issues its monthly inflation re****t
this morning, and prices clearly are a concern to average Americans.
While 20 percent cite the price of gasoline as the single most im****tant
economic issue facing their families, more, 32 percent, say it's rising
prices more generally.
And while concern about gasoline prices is up a scant 4 points since
January, concern about inflation more generally has risen by 9 points,
supplanting worry about health care costs.
There's a division between the ***es: Men are more apt to complain about
gas prices; women, about inflation in general.
Apart from gasoline, three in 10 Americans re****t trouble paying their
other household bills because of rising prices, with a vast income gap:
Among people with household incomes under $20,000, 54 percent re****t
problems paying household bills, compared with just 14 percent in
$100,000-plus households.
The biggest single household item causing concern, by far, is the price
of food, cited by 56 percent of those who re****t trouble paying
household bills. That's followed by utility bills, 21 percent; and
health care expenses, 15 percent.
GAS: Sixty-three percent re****t financial hard****p because of gas
prices; about a third say it's a serious hard****p. These have stabilized
since last month although prices have continued to rise; that suggests
people either are adjusting or finding workarounds.
As noted, four in 10 say they're driving less; beyond simply cutting
back that includes carpooling or using mass transit. Among the solutions
respondents offered: "Searching for the cheapest gas stations,"
"multi-tasking, doing two or more things when going out," "drive slower
and use less gas," "having the kids ride their bikes to school," and "I
don't eat out any longer."
Another offered a political approach to higher gas prices: "Voting for
Obama." (Americans overall trust Barack Obama over John McCain to handle
gas prices by a 48-28 percent margin.) Others just suck it up: "I am
living with it," said one respondent. "Just cope with it," said another.
The pain hits hardest among low-income Americans; 56 percent of those
with household incomes under $20,000 a year re****t serious hard****p from
gas prices, compared with 19 percent of those in $100,000-plus households.
How Are You Dealing With Gas Prices? Tell ABC News
HOW MUCH? With gas now averaging a record $3.72 a gallon, what'll it
take for those who haven't yet cut back on their driving to do so? The
average answer is $5.65, ranging from a high of $7.21 for single men and
$6.67 for Westerners (gas is costlier there) to lows of $4.96 for
married women and $4.74 for Midwesterners.
There's a range of blame for gas prices, but oil companies take much of
the heat: Three in 10 mainly blame them (or "greed" or profiteering),
followed by the Iraq war (12 percent), the Bush administration (10
percent), market forces (8 percent) and OPEC (9 percent).
Still, for all their dissatisfaction with the price of gas, Americans
divide evenly -- 46-47 percent -- on the idea of suspending the federal
gasoline tax this summer. And when presented with arguments from critics
that suspending the gas tax might not reduce prices much and would cut
billions from the highway trust fund, opposition rises to 60 percent.
METHODOLOGY This ABC News/Wa****ngton Post poll was conducted by
telephone May 8-11, 2008, among a random national sample of 1,122
adults, including an oversample of African Americans (weighted to their
correct share of the national population), for a total of 206 black
respondents. The results from the full survey have a 3-point error
margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS of Horsham, PA.
Click here for a PDF with charts and full questionnaire.
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