… Romney is right that most Americans aren’t confident that the next generation will do better — but there’s nothing new about that. Pollsters have been finding similar results for almost 30 years.
“From 1984 until now, a plurality on almost every survey — and sometimes a majority — has said the next generation would have it worse than this generation,” said Samuel L. Popkin, a political scientist at UC San Diego. “It’s rarely been in positive territory.”
And Popkin should know: He devised that question — the first of its kind, he says — for the CBS-New York Times Poll back in 1984. [cont.]
Doyle McManus, Los Angeles Times