We live in frightening times.
Wars in Ukraine and Gaza could widen, the polar ice caps are melting, and even some scientists developing artificial intelligence systems are worried about unleashing a monster.
But those fears all pale in comparison to what really gives Americans the jitters.
That’s according to a nationwide Ipsos survey of more than 1,000 US adults.
The calamity that worries them above all else is a total economic collapse in the US.
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An economic meltdown is the top fear for a third of respondents.
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Only 9 percent of them live blissfully unfazed by any of the apocalyptic scenarios.
Ipsos pollster Kevin Hung said Americans are ‘extremely anxious about the economy.’
That’s ‘despite recent positive economic indicators such as lower inflation and unemployment rates,’ he added.
Still, it’s not all good news.
The blue-chip Dow and the S&P 500 were headed for weekly losses on Friday.
Americans have in recent months watched their savings and 401k pots seesaw in value.
Just last year, the collapses of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank looked as if they could spiral into a wider meltdown.
And shoppers spend as much as $6 on a dozen eggs that as recently as 2000 cost barely a dollar.
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Greg Gwiasda, another pollster, said the economy is a top concern because it’s in the headlines all the time — and most of it is bad news.
‘People can therefore quickly and easily recall economic stories — typically negative — and thus infer it must be more likely,’ he added.
For Republican voters, it’s even more real, and the top concern for nearly half of them.
The looming economic crash is for them more ‘evidence of President Joe Biden‘s failed economic policies,’ added Gwiasda.
Voters of all stripes are alarmed by World War 3, with a quarter of respondents calling it their top worry.
There are many reasons to fear all-out conflict is close at hand.
Russia has pushed into Ukraine since annexing Crimea in 2014, China‘s leader Xi Jinping has reportedly set 2027 as a likely year to recapture its self-governed province Taiwan.
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Meanwhile, Israel‘s assault on Gaza militants could yet spiral into a wider conflict with Iran.
Climate change came in third place, with 19 percent of respondents calling planet-heating gases were their biggest worry.
That’s no surprise after 2023 saw a record-breaking 28 weather and climate related tragedies costing more than $1 billion each.
They included the wildfire that destroyed Lahaina on Maui Island and California‘s epic floods.
Still, said Gwiasda, such tragedies are a ‘lesser storyline’ and people ‘no longer pay as much attention to them.’
Just 6 percent of Republicans, for example, say global warming is their top worry.
Many Americans known as survivalists or preppers have stocked their basements, ready for an economic implosion, or other doomsday scenario
And while the COVID-19 outbreak that claimed 7 million lives globally is in the rearview mirror, 12 percent of Americans say another pandemic is their biggest worry.
The doomsday scenario Americans worry about least is killer robots, the survey showed.
Just 2 percent of them called deadly machines a worry, even though it keeps some scientists awake at night.
Last month, more than 1,000 technology leaders and researchers, including Elon Musk, called for a pause to research on advanced artificial intelligence systems.
In an open letter, they warned that AI tools present ‘profound risks to society and humanity.’
The Ipsos survey of 1,082 US adults was carried out earlier this month.
