New Delhi: More than four in 10 Americans struggled to pay for at least one basic necessity in the past year, while six in 10 said their income was insufficient to afford the life they wanted, according to a new Pew Research Center survey.
“Many Americans are facing financial challenges in their daily lives, from struggling to pay for necessities to not being able to save for the future,” said Juliana Horowitz, senior associate director of social trends research at the Pew Research Center.
Released on 14 October, the survey examines Americans’ personal financial circumstances, alongside their views on economic inequality, its causes and who should be responsible for addressing it.
While financial distress remains widespread, the survey also found that many Americans believe the gap between the rich and poor is excessive, with a growing share calling for more fundamental changes to the economic system.
“Taken together, these findings provide a window into how Americans are experiencing the economy and thinking about its broader impact,” Horowitz said.
The findings are based largely on a survey of 5,166 US adults conducted between 24 and 30 August, with a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 1.6 percentage points.
Financial strain extends beyond monthly bills
For many American households, financial insecurity goes beyond struggling to make ends meet at the end of the month. The survey found that 53 per cent of adults did not have enough emergency savings to cover three months of expenses.
Nearly three in 10 Americans (27 per cent) said they could not pay some monthly bills or could make only partial payments. Healthcare costs and debt were also persistent sources of anxiety, with 32 per cent saying they worried about each of these almost every day.
Six in 10 Americans said they did not have enough income to lead the kind of life they wanted, although views of personal finances varied considerably across household income groups.
The findings point to financial pressures that affect not only Americans’ ability to cover everyday expenses but also their capacity to build savings and feel secure about the future.
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More Americans want fundamental changes to tackle inequality
The survey found widespread dissatisfaction with wealth and income distribution in the US. About 61 per cent of Americans said there was too much economic inequality, a figure unchanged since 2019.
However, the share of those who want more fundamental change has increased.
Among Americans who believe inequality is excessive, 35 per cent said no amount of economic inequality was acceptable, up from 29 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, 24 per cent said the economic system needed to be rebuilt to address the problem, compared with 14 per cent in 2019.
Confidence in the system’s ability to address inequality was also low among those who believed it was excessive and called for at least major changes. Only 8 per cent of Democrats and 11 per cent of Republicans in this group expressed high confidence in the system’s ability to address the problem.
By contrast, 70 per cent of Democrats and 55 per cent of Republicans said they were either not too confident or not at all confident.
Democrats and Republicans differ on causes of inequality
The two parties also differ on what they see as the main drivers of economic inequality.
Among Republicans who considered inequality excessive, 59 per cent said people’s different life choices contribute to it, compared with 28 per cent of Democrats.
Democrats were more likely to point to structural factors, including the tax system, cited by 65 per cent, and insufficient regulation of large corporations, cited by 60 per cent.
Despite these differences, many Americans agreed that the government and businesses should play a role in reducing inequality.
Among those who believed inequality was too high, 72 per cent said the federal government should bear responsibility for addressing it, up from 66 per cent in 2019. Support for state governments taking action also rose, from 52 per cent in 2019 to 57 per cent, according to the latest survey.
(Edited by Maryam Hassan)