NEW YORK, Sept. 27, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The political
environment in Washington is the
biggest threat to the U.S. economy over the next 6 months,
according to a Bankrate.com survey of U.S. adults that was
conducted within the past week. 36% cited the political situation
in D.C., more than the next two choices combined (the threat posed
by North Korea, at 24%, and rising
interest rates, at 10%). Terrorism also registered approximately
10% of the vote and a decline in the stock market came in with 8%.
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Most demographic groups selected D.C. politics as the biggest
risk. Democrats, college graduates and middle-income households
have the strongest distaste for what's happening in the nation's
capital. Three groups are more likely to fear North Korea than domestic politics:
Republicans, Hispanics and southerners.
All age groups selected D.C. politics as the biggest danger,
ranging from 34% of millennials to 39% of Baby Boomers. But whereas
just 15% of millennials listed North
Korea as the biggest near-term economic hazard, 32% of
Boomers said so. Collectively, younger millennials (18-26
year-olds) actually put North
Korea in fourth place (all other age ranges had it
second).
"Since we last asked this question in April, the stock market
has repeatedly set new highs, the Federal Reserve has raised
interest rates again and announced the start of unwinding their
bond holdings. Yet Americans' angst about rising interest rates or
a stock market decline barely registers, with worries instead
centered around the political environment in Washington and developments on the
international scene," said Greg
McBride, CFA, Bankrate.com's chief financial analyst.
The Bankrate.com Financial Security Index fell to its lowest
level since May, but at 104.8, it's still tied for the
sixth-highest reading in the 82 months since polling began in
Dec. 2010. Men are feeling
particularly good about their finances; their 107.7 rating is
significantly higher than the 101.8 posted by women. Any figure
above 100 indicates improved financial security over the past 12
months.
The survey was conducted by Princeton Survey Research
Associates International. PSRAI obtained telephone interviews with
a nationally representative sample of about 1,000 adults living in
the continental United States. Interviews were
conducted by landline and cell phone in English and Spanish by
Princeton Data Source in September
2017. Statistical results are weighted to correct known
demographic discrepancies. The margin of sampling error for the
complete set of weighted data is approximately 3.8 percentage
points.
About Bankrate.com:
Bankrate.com provides consumers with the expert advice and tools
needed to succeed throughout life's financial journey. For over two
decades, Bankrate.com has been a leading personal finance
destination. The company offers award-winning editorial
content, competitive rate information, and calculators and tools
across multiple categories, including mortgages, deposits, credit
cards, retirement, automobile loans and taxes. Bankrate aggregates
rate information from over 4,800 institutions on more than 300
financial products. With coverage of over 600 local markets,
Bankrate generates rate tables in all 50 U.S. states. Bankrate
develops and provides web services to more than 100 cobranded
websites with online partners, including some of the most trusted
and frequently visited personal finance sites on the internet, such
as Comcast, Yahoo!, CNBC and Bloomberg. In addition, Bankrate
licenses editorial content to more than 500 newspapers on a daily
basis including The Wall Street Journal, USA Today,
The New York Times and The Los Angeles Times.
For more information:
Ted Rossman
Public Relations Director
ted.rossman@bankrate.com
917-368-8635
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SOURCE Bankrate.com
