A new Fox News poll conducted between Aug 6th to 9th, 2022 has revealed that 70% of registered voters polled say that life will be worse for the next generation of Americans than it is today.
The new poll in the United States of America is coming against the backdrop of mass shootings, foreign policy showdowns, inflation woes and pandemic.
The poll reveals that additional voters are now saying life will be worse for the next generation, 29% more than those that said so in July 2020. Fox News reports that the last time voters were close to being this negative about the future was in September 2014, when 61% said it would be worse.
Generally, voters expressed a pessimistic view of both the American economy and their individual finances.
8 in 10 rate national economic conditions as only fair or poor, while about 6 in 10 rate their personal finances negatively. Three-quarters of the voters expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the country.
About 8 in 10 Republicans (76%) and Independents (79%) say life will be worse for the next generation, a 40+ point increase from two summers ago.
On the Democrats side, 57% are more likely to think that life will be more difficult, up 9 points since 2020.
Voters under age 30 (28% better-66% worse) are just as likely as voters ages 65 and over (25-68%) to say life will be worse for the youth of America.
Overall, a quarter (25%) think life will improve for young Americans.
The Midterm elections in America is barely three months away, and voters are split on their preference for Democratic or Republican candidates in their House district. Both Party’s candidates are split at 41% apiece.
Of the 70% saying the next generation will be worse off, those voters break for the GOP by 14 points. The 25% who say life will be better favor the Democrat by 34.
On the threats facing the country, the voters say some of the gravest threats to the stability of the U.S are at home as well as abroad.
64% say that gun violence is a major threat to the stability of the country. There has been several high-profile shootings in U.S.A in recent months, added to other shootings that dates back decades.
China and Russia are also in the top tier of major threats, with 60% for both threats.
On the Home front, domestic extremist groups (55%), big government (52%) and climate change (52%) round out a second tier of perceived threats, while illegal immigration (47%) and people refusing to accept election results (46%) come in somewhat lower on the scale.
For Democrats, gun violence was seen as the biggest threat, with 80% saying it’s a major threat, this is followed by climate change at 73% and election deniers and domestic extremists at 66%.
Republicans’ biggest concern is a tie between China and illegal immigration (71% each). Big government comes in third at 65%.
Just half of Democrats think China is a major threat (49%), while the opposite is true for Republicans on gun violence (51%).
With all their differences, partisans agree that Russia is a major threat (59% for Dems and 58% for Republicans).
Meanwhile, 70% are extremely or very concerned about China’s military power. That’s unchanged since last year — and since House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s recent trip to Taiwan, a trip Beijing vehemently opposed.
The poll was conducted under the joint direction of Beacon Research and Shaw & Company Research. 1,002 registered voters across the United States chosen randomly from the national voter file were interviewed for this poll. The voters were interviewed on both landlines and cellphones.
The total sample has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Nnamdi Maduakor is a Writer, Investor and Entrepreneur
