Instead, large majorities of Americans look to science and technology as well as to the education system to solve future problems: 87% say science and technology will have a very or somewhat positive impact in solving the nation’s problems, and roughly three-quarters say the same about public K-12 schools (77%) and colleges and universities (74%). And, when asked what impact the federal government will have on finding solutions to the country’s future problems, more say Washington will have a negative impact than a positive one (55% vs. A similar share worries about the ability of political leaders to solve the nation’s biggest problems, with 48% saying they are very worried about this. More than eight-in-ten say they are worried about the way the government in Washington works, including 49% who are very worried. In the face of these problems and threats, the majority of Americans have little confidence that the federal government and their elected officials are up to meeting the major challenges that lie ahead. By 2050, people ages 65 and older are predicted to outnumber those younger than 18, a change that a 56% majority of all adults say will be bad for the country. ![]() The public views another projected change in the demographic contours of America more ominously. And, when asked about the consequences of an increasingly diverse America, nearly half of whites (46%) but only a quarter of Hispanics and 18% of blacks say a majority-minority country would weaken American customs and values. Whites are about twice as likely as blacks or Hispanics to view this change negatively (28% of whites vs. These views differ significantly by race and ethnicity. About four-in-ten Americans (42%) say this shift will be neither good nor bad for the country while 35% believe a majority-minority population will be a good thing, and 23% say it will be bad. Census Bureau predicts that, by 2050, blacks, Hispanics, Asians and other minorities will constitute a majority of the population. The public also has a somewhat more positive view – or at least a more benign one – of some current demographic trends that will shape the country’s future. And, on a decidedly optimistic note, more than half expect a cure for Alzheimer’s disease by 2050. ![]() Nearly nine-in-ten predict that a woman will be elected president, and roughly two-thirds (65%) say the same about a Hispanic person. in 2050 that the public sees in its crystal ball includes major changes in the country’s political leadership. The share of Americans who are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country – seven-in-ten in January of 2019 – is higher now than at any time in the past year. These grim predictions mirror, in part, the public’s sour mood about the current state of the country. Also predicted: a terrorist attack as bad as or worse than 9/11 sometime over the next 30 years. Majorities predict that the economy will be weaker, health care will be less affordable, the condition of the environment will be worse and older Americans will have a harder time making ends meet than they do now. ![]() While a narrow majority of the public (56%) say they are at least somewhat optimistic about America’s future, hope gives way to doubt when the focus turns to specific issues.Ī new Pew Research Center survey focused on what Americans think the United States will be like in 2050 finds that majorities of Americans foresee a country with a burgeoning national debt, a wider gap between the rich and the poor and a workforce threatened by automation. When Americans peer 30 years into the future, they see a country in decline economically, politically and on the world stage.
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