Yanks in Crisis
By DAVID BROOKS
NYT
We’re in the middle of the biggest crisis of capitalism in 70 years. We’ve got a new administration in Washington active on every front. What’s all this done to the public mind?
A poll to be released today by The National Journal and Allstate gives a pretty good view. As you’d expect, there’s a lot of economic anxiety in the country, spanning every income category. Sixty-four percent of Americans believe there are more risks that endanger their standards of living today than in their parents’ time. On the other hand, there’s still some sense of opportunity. Forty-two percent believe there are more opportunities to move up than a generation ago, compared with 29 percent who think there are fewer.
In short, there’s a feeling of greater volatility, both up and down. People don’t seem to feel as if they are sliding into a hole, but neither do they feel secure.
So whom do they turn to in times like these? Themselves. Americans have always felt that they are masters of their own fate. Decade after decade, Americans stand out from others in their belief that their own individual actions determine how they fare. That conviction has been utterly unshaken by the global crisis. In question after question, large majorities say their own actions will determine how much they will make, how well they will endure the recession, how healthy they will be and so on.
(More here.)
NYT
We’re in the middle of the biggest crisis of capitalism in 70 years. We’ve got a new administration in Washington active on every front. What’s all this done to the public mind?
A poll to be released today by The National Journal and Allstate gives a pretty good view. As you’d expect, there’s a lot of economic anxiety in the country, spanning every income category. Sixty-four percent of Americans believe there are more risks that endanger their standards of living today than in their parents’ time. On the other hand, there’s still some sense of opportunity. Forty-two percent believe there are more opportunities to move up than a generation ago, compared with 29 percent who think there are fewer.
In short, there’s a feeling of greater volatility, both up and down. People don’t seem to feel as if they are sliding into a hole, but neither do they feel secure.
So whom do they turn to in times like these? Themselves. Americans have always felt that they are masters of their own fate. Decade after decade, Americans stand out from others in their belief that their own individual actions determine how they fare. That conviction has been utterly unshaken by the global crisis. In question after question, large majorities say their own actions will determine how much they will make, how well they will endure the recession, how healthy they will be and so on.
(More here.)
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