As improbable as it may be, there’s still much to be concerned about in a poll that says that as many as 60% of Americans think another Great Depression is a likely possibility:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Nearly six out of ten Americans believe another economic depression is likely, according to a poll released Monday.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll, which surveyed more than 1,000 Americans over the weekend, cited common measures of the economic pain of the 1930s:
* 25% unemployment rate;
* widespread bank failures; and
* millions of Americans homeless and unable to feed their families.In response, 21% of those polled say that a depression is very likely and another 38% say it is somewhat likely.
The poll also found that 29% feel a depression is not very likely, while 13% believe it is not likely at all.
But economists, even many who feel current economic risks are dire, generally don’t believe another depression is likely.
“We’ve been in a recession all year and it’s going to get worse,” said Anirvan Banerji, director of research for the Economic Cycle Research Institute. “We’re going from a relatively mild recession to a more painful recession. But we’re a long, long way from a depression.”
But when people start losing confidence in the fundamental institutions of the economy, not to mention losing confidence in the government, you can never tell what’s going to happen.
