Nearly six years after the end of the Great Recession, the views of Americans regarding the performance of the broader economy and their household finances remains decidedly mixed. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ recently polled seven thousand US households. Results of the survey were recently highlighted by the Associated Press. The survey indicates that fifty-seven percent of Americans don’t consider themselves ready for a sudden financial setback. Perhaps even more remarkably, fifty-five percent say that they break even or spend more than they make each month.
A third of those surveyed indicated that they have yet to amass any savings. This state of affairs at the household level persists despite ongoing improvements in economic conditions. Twenty-seven percent give the economy a positive grade, which is equal to pre-recession levels. Still many people feel vulnerable, in part because many have sustained an economic shock over the past year. Fully eighty percent of surveyed households report suffering an economic shock over the past year such as a hospital visit, the loss of a spouse or major home or auto repairs.
