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The spreading tide of bad news on Wall Street this week may signal the worst financial crisis in generations.
Yet most Americans are greeting the headlines with a shrug, according to a new MSN-Zogby poll.
Most said they're not more worried about their jobs, homes or bank accounts, despite the demise of two big Wall Street banks and an $85 billion government bailout of the world's largest insurance company. Most said the news hasn't affected their choice in the presidential race, and almost half said they expect their personal financial situation to be "about the same" a year from now.
The poll results contradict the increasingly worried consensus among analysts and politicians, including President Bush, who made brief comments on the economy Thursday. "The American people are concerned about the situation in our financial markets and our economy, and I share their concerns," he said.
This week the government scrambled to shore up Wall Street companies even as stocks fell to seven-year lows and losses in some investment funds threatened the retirement savings of millions of Americans.
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A Reuters report said Americans have greeted news of bailouts "with anger, anxiety and resignation -- and mixed opinions as to whether either presidential candidate can fix the financial mess."
Yet just 19% of those polled said they are more worried about their home and 27% said they are more worried about their job since news of government bailouts.
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Among respondents, 74% said they plan to "do nothing" in response to the financial news, and 62% said they will continue contributing to retirement accounts like 401(k)s. Investment experts generally advise against selling stocks in response to market downturns, though many of those experts caution that this crisis is more serious than earlier drops.
When asked about their personal finances, 44% said they expect to be worse off a year from now, while 43% said about the same.
Eighty-eight percent said the economic news hasn't affected their choice of presidential candidate. Forty-five percent said they plan to stick with McCain, and 42% said they plan to stick with Obama. Those who said they plan to switch to McCain or Obama accounted for 3% each.
Take the poll
Sound off about how the current financial crisis is affecting you and your money decisions. Click here to go to the MSN Money poll.
The online survey was conducted Sept. 16-17 and carries a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percentage points. The poll is a sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the U.S. Slight weights were added, such as for region, party, age, race, religion, gender and education to accurately reflect the overall U.S. population.
| MSN-Zogby poll (minor answers deleted) | |
|---|---|
Are you considering moving your banking to another financial institution? | |
Yes | 10% |
No | 83% |
Do you plan to buy stock, sell stock or do nothing in response to the current financial news? | |
Do nothing | 74% |
Buy stock | 12% |
Sell stock | 3% |
Are you considering contributing less, more or the same to your retirement accounts such as 401(k)s? | |
The same | 62% |
Less | 10% |
More | 6% |
Not sure/refuse to answer | 21% |
Has the current financial news caused you to pay more or less attention to the presidential election than you did a month ago? | |
About the same amount of attention | 72% |
More attention | 27% |
Not sure | 33% |
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