Worried about losing your job? Afraid you'll hit retirement age with nothing in the bank? The richest people in America apparently feel your pain.
A sizable minority of the one percent are fretting over the economy just like everyone else, according to a survey of the country's top earners conducted by American Express Publishing and the Harrison Group and reported Wednesday by The Wall Street Journal.
Twenty-eight percent of the one percenters polled said they are worried about their jobs, the WSJ reports. While 38 percent say they're concerned they'll eventually run out of money. And one-quarter of those surveyed who own their own businesses say they fear their companies may not survive another year.
The findings may seem unexpected considering how well the super rich have fared compared to the rest of the country. After all, the one percent reaped nearly all of the benefits of the post-2009 recovery, and their incomes have risen meteorically in the last 30 years, even as most Americans' wages barely budged.
Still, this week's findings are hardly the first time the well-off have registered their financial distress. Last fall, a survey found that almost half of people with more than $100,000 in savings are nevertheless worried about their retirement prospects. And an extensive survey of the very, very rich, conducted by researchers at Boston College and reported in The Atlantic last year, suggests that extreme wealth does little to rid the mind of the fear of destitution.
For Americans not in the top income bracket, financial anxiety is also high -- in fact, it's higher than it's been in 30 years, according to one study -- but the causes may be a little bit easier to understand.
With jobs hard to find, and decent wages even scarcer, money troubles are simply a fact of life for more and more Americans. A growing number of people report not being able to cover basic expenses like food. And more than two out of every five households live in a precarious state where one financial emergency is all it would take to put them into poverty.
Fewer workers saving for retirement, more under financial stress
Economic Crisis, Financial Stress and Job Loss, ABC News ...
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The Huffington Post | By Alexander Eichler Posted: 03/14/2012 7:05 pm Updated: 03/14/2012 7:05 pm