Most Connecticut residents’ struggles paying for food and motor and heating fuel have them doubtful about their near-term financial outlook as well as that of the American economy, a new survey shows.
Fifty-two percent of Connecticut residents believe our country’s best economic days are behind us and that the next generation will have to accept a lower standard of living, according to the study from Siena College in upstate New York.
First Niagara Bank, which entered Connecticut earlier this year through its takeover of New Haven’s NewAlliance Bank, funded the Siena Research Institute first-ever sampling of Connecticut citizens’ economic outlook .
According to the random sample of 627 state residents age 18 or older, food is a financial hardship for 71 percent, while gas prices seriously impact 72 percent. Home heating is a concern for 77 percent.
Fifty-five percent said they either put no money aside (39 percent) for retirement this year beyond any contribution their employer may have made or withdrew (16 percent) from their savings to meet expenses.
One third said they have less than six months of expenses covered in their savings accounts. Most say they have turned to couponing and spend more on generics than brand names to save on health and hygiene purchase.
Only 22 percent of residents expect strong business conditions over the next year.
“Three times as many residents say that they are worse off financially today than they were a year ago compared to those that say their lot has improved,” said Don Levy, director of the Siene Research Institute, the study’s author. “A majority of state residents are concerned about their ability to continue to live at their current standard of living and nearly two thirds admit that they spend more time than before worrying about money.”
Sixty-six percent say that overall, government is more of the problem when it comes to economic issues while 21 percent feel that government is more of the solution.
But the study also validated, Levy said, a mounting sentiment that the governor and other Connecticut policymakers encountered during the state’s budget sessions earlier this year.
Overwhelming majorities support, he said the survey showed, increasing income taxes on those making over $250,000 and ending U.s. involvement in the war in Afghanistan.
Connecticut citizens also back an aggressive infrastructure development program, job training rather than expanding unemployment benefits, increasing exploration and development of domestic energy, monitoring the workings of the financial industry, retaining funding for entitlement programs like Social Security, and expanding federal support for education, including Head Start and college financial aid.
