Show A national survey by PARADE focuses on the issue of most concern to A voters—the state of their pocketbooks i Ft WHAT WOULD TELL YOU A at our request conducted 2538 a national survey of people between the ages of 18 and 65 who were representative of the country by sex age and income Here is his report: PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE The pollster Mark Clements G L Na It ' " ' Lij I JONEY ISN'T IMPORTANT" it has been said "but it's the only way to keep score" Al- ways money matters—but perhaps never more than in an election year For two out of every three Americans ac- cording to PARADE's survey the single most influential factor in how they will cast their ballots this November is their concern about the economy In fact the vast majority—three out of every four—believe the nation is in a recession And more than one in five (21) go further calling it a depression The majority of those surveyed spoke from personal experience: More than 75 said they had been personally affected by the recession "I was laid off in April 1991 and haven't worked since" said George Darlas 43 an industrial mechanic from Brimfield Ohio "There are jobs Out there for $425 an hour but I can't make house payments on that" Said Colleen Phillips a mother of two from Royston Ga: "My husband works for UPS and I work part-tim- e at the welfare office so we feel pretty secure But since about December I've seen a good increase in the number of people collecting welfare—and that affects me" Americans also expressed frustration and criticism of their government: Nine out of 10 said the government was "not doing enough to help the economy" Our biggest money worries What are the "pocketbook issues" that people said concerned them most? The majority (57) told us they were "very worried" about not having enough cash available for emergencies (See graph on opposite page) "There's not a whole lot of money coming in and I'm worried about paying bills" said Buck Stamper 42 of Morehead Ky a father of two girls who sells and repairs large appliances and furniture "Plus there are no assurances—you never know what emergency is going to come up" Overall 50 of those surveyed declared that they were "very worried" about paying for health care—and the figure was 61 for those in households with incomes under $40000 In all 86 said we needed a national health-car- e policy "Medical costs are going up constantly" said Pat Nagel 59 a wife and mother of five from Dayton Ohio "Just the other day my prescription for high blood pressure medication went up by $7 and that's just one instance Hospitals doctor visits and drugs are escalating all the time My daughter has two small children B Y Li A R flow About Jobs? the US Department of Labor reported that the nation's unemployment rate had reached 73 5 the highest since Other data meanwhile point to a slight upturn in the economy We asked the survey participants how they were faring We discovered that: One person in 10 has been laid off in the past year Cl One person in fife has had a member of his or her famiIn early March mid-198- 0 ly laid off Cl Among those who are employed more than two out of five wort in a company that has laid off someone in the past year Two out of three are aware of a friend or neighbor losing a job in the past year One in three is "very worried" that a major wage-earnin the family will lose his or her job 0 0 er PARADE'S study was conducted earlier this year by mail by the independent research firm of Mark Clements Research Inc The overall sample was selected to conform to the latest available US Census data for men and women 18 to 65 The 2538 re- sponses—representing nine geographic divisions by age annual household income and house- hold size—were then weighted to the latest US Census data for age and household income K Fr 177 i IF YOU COULD? Her medical insurance was almost $350 a month It her family's medical care didn't cost that much even with all the kids' checkups So to save money she dropped her insurance figuring she'd pay the doctors as she goes That's as much as saying you can't afford medical insurance!" Like health care 50 of those surveyed said they were "very worried" about not having enough savings for their retirement In fact more than 40 said they actually were saving less for retirement than in the past—and the figure was almost 50 among those 35 and older Meanwhile 41 told us they were "very worried" about not being able to finance their child's education Said Greg Tourtelotte 39 of Pittston Maine: "My wife and I are dealing with pay cuts rising utility bills taxes being reassessed—and a son getting ready to go off to college We never were able to put away a lot for his education" So to save money they're sending him to an dauginexpensive school in the South "As for our hter" added Tourtelotte "we've been taking out US Savings Bonds since she was born so I think we may be all set Paying for the kids' education is something we worry about quite a bit" Another 41 told us they were "very worried" about just maintaining their current standard of living while 47 said they were "somewhat worried" In addition 65 reported that they either were not buying or were spending less on "big ticket items" such as houses and cars And 78 said they were spending less in general yet still saving less "My husband has a small mechanical contracting business that is not getting as many bids as in the past" said ICrystyna Berger 36 a lab technologist from Schuylkill Haven Pa "We're being really careful with what we spend and not making any moves if the money's not in the bank When I got married 15 years ago I could put most of my salary away Now we can't do that My salary has to go toward at least part of our basic needs" Who's worrying the most? Those in households with incomes under $40000 who feel they've been hit hardest by the recession What about jobs? Underlying these worries was a deep fear about joblessness The figures show why (see "How About Jobs?" at left) "My daughter and her husband are out of work" said Jo Reagan 51 a widow from Sevierville Tenn "I'm helping them out which cuts me back She's a computer operator He's a computer analyst It scares me to think they can't find jobs and they're so qualified" Even people with jobs are not breathing easily: About 40 of those surveyed told us they were "very concerned" about not getting a raise or about their raises being cut while 35 were "very concerned" about larger workloads as a result of their companies having fewer employees And at least 25 mentioned that they were "very concerned" about pay cuts not getting a bonus or getting a smaller bonus To supplement their household incomes 20 of the respondents told us they had to take a second job 17 said their spouses had to go to work CLELIEN PAGE 4 MAY 3 1992 T S PARADE MAGAZINE |