http://www.savannahnow.com/node/372208ALAN FRAM | Wednesday, October 10, 2007 at 12:30 am
WASHINGTON - A growing number of people say the economy is the nation's top problem, with the less educated among the most worried, an Associated Press-Ipsos poll showed Tuesday.
Yet even with a credit crunch and soft housing market, economic angst remains well behind war and domestic issues among the public's chief concerns, according to survey results.
Given an open-ended opportunity to name the major problem facing the U.S., 15 percent volunteered the economy. That was six percentage points more than named it when the AP-Ipsos poll last asked the question in July.
"They talk about a big surge in Iraq; well, there hasn't been a big surge over here," said Sadruddin El-Amin, 55, a truck driver in Hanahan, S.C., who named the economy as the top problem. "The job market isn't getting any better, not for the working class."
Twenty-two percent of those with a high school education or less named the economy as the country's worst problem, compared to eight percent with college degrees. In addition, 20 percent of minorities cited the economy as the top issue, compared to nine percent who did so in July. There was no real difference between Republicans and Democrats, with just under a fifth of each naming the economy as biggest worry.