SUMMER WORRIES ABOUT OUR FINANCES.
The Osgood File. Sponsored in part by AJC. This is Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network.
Bankrate.Com's newest measurement of how financially secure Americans are feeling these days is out - and the news is not good.
SOT - Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.Com
"Americans' feelings of financial security posted the biggest drop in eleven months." (:04)
That's Greg McBride - he's Bankrate.Com's senior financial analyst.
SOT - Greg McBride
"We've got ourselves another summer economic slowdown - there's no doubt about it." (:04)
More after this from David Harris of AJC...
((( BREAK )))
American consumers - whose spending accounts for the bulk of economic activity in this country - are supposedly the engine that drives the U.S. economy.
But, they are loath to spend much right now. That's because they're worried, says the Bankrate.Com survey.
SOT - Greg McBride
"We've seen a run of disappointing economic data, and this is really showing that consumers are starting to feel it. We see this on all fronts: job security, savings, debt, net worth and overall financial situation." (:12)
The old election year political question - "Are you better off now than you were four years ago?" - is not what this survey asks. This is not a political poll.
Nevertheless, it is clear that we apparently feel worse now than we did even one year ago.
SOT - Greg McBride
"By nearly a margin of three-to-one, Americans feel less secure with their savings now, relative to what they had a year ago - versus those that are actually feeling better. And people - even if they've managed to squirrel away a little bit of money - they realize they still have a long way to go. And in an environment of stagnant wages, they're just not feeling like they're making a whole lot of progress." (:18)
It's true wages are stagnant, and the economy does seem stuck - if not in the mud, at least in first gear.
Checking the engine - how do we feel? We don't feel good...
SOT - Greg McBride
"And economically, it's difficult for us to get out of first gear, when wages are going nowhere and people are still in a belt-tightening mode." (:07)
The Osgood File. Transcripts, podcasts, and Mp3s of these programs can be found at theosgoodfile.com. This is Charles Osgood on the CBS Radio Network. |
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