Generation to generation

 A couple of things following up on my last post:

1.  A comment asked about the possibility of changes in the dispersion of responses (people saying they are a lot better or worse off than their parents).  If we combine years into three groups:

                          much   somewhat    same    somewhat    much   
                         better     better                       worse          worse

1994-2000         33%     32%           22%      10%          3%

2002-2008         34%      32%          21%      10%          3%

2010-2021         28%      30%          25%      13%          5%

The distribution is almost the same in the first two periods.  Assessments are less favorable in the third, with little or no change in dispersion.

2.  In 1981, a Washington Post survey asked "Think of your parents when they were your age. Would you say you are better off financially than they were or not?"  Similar questions have been asked by the Post and other surveys, some offering just the two options, some offering three (better, worse, or the same).  It appeared to me that proportion saying better didn't change depending on whether there were two or three options--that is, people treated "not" as meaning "the same or worse."  The figure gives the percent saying "better off":      

There are some mysterious differences between surveys taken at about the same time, but there are also some clear trends.  As with the GSS, there is a decline in the 21st century.  The figure also shows that recent opinions are less positive than opinions in the early 1980s, when the economy was in recession.  However, a majority chose "better" at all times except the last one (2017).  That survey started off with four questions about finances before asking the one about comparison with parents.  Those questions included one about concerns about not saving enough for retirement, which is a point on which a lot of people are worried.  So I think the context pushed people in a negative direction.  But even on that survey, the balance was positive:  47% said they were better off and 29% said they were worse off. * Overall, I think this supports my conclusion from the GSS question:  assessments are not as favorable as they used to be, but are still favorable.  

*There was a question from 1980 that found 42% saying they were better off and 33% saying that they were worse off.  However, it didn't specify "at the same age" so I did not include it.