America has a case of low self-esteem. And it’s not getting any better.
Just 34% of Americans now believe the United States will be the most powerful nation in the world at the end of the 21st Century.
Slightly more (37%) say America will not be number one, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twenty-nine percent (29%) are not sure.
Younger Americans are more pessimistic than their elders. Fifty-one percent (51%) of those ages 18 to 29 say the United States will not be the most powerful nation at the end of the century, compared to 21% of those 65 and older.
Overall, the numbers are a bit more pessimistic than they were two months ago.
Sixty-eight percent (68%) of Americans say the economic problems facing the nation are the greatest threat to the United States today. Twenty-two percent (22%) are more concerned about national security threats.
But 41% of U.S. voters worry that America’s preoccupation with the ongoing economic crisis will make us more vulnerable to a terrorist attack.
A narrow plurality of Democrats (38%) believe the USA will be the world’s most powerful nation in the next century but 47% of Republicans hold the opposite view. As for adults not affiliated with either major party, 28% say America will be number one, 36% say it won’t be, and 36% aren’t sure.
Most Americans believe the U.S. economy will be stronger in five years than it is today, but they don’t look for much change in the near future.
In October, 72% of Americans said this country is still the best one in the world. However, only 33% think it is still possible for just about anyone in America to work hard and get rich.
One-third (33%) of U.S. voters now think the country is heading in the right direction, while 60% believe it is heading down the wrong track. This is a slight uptick in confidence since Barack Obama became president.
[
link to www.rasmussenreports.com]
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