TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Six-in-ten adults predict that the US will be less important in the world in 2050, the poll by the Pew Research Center found.
This view was shared by most key demographic groups, but it is more widely held by whites and those with more education, Pew said.
There are also large party differences on America’s standing in the world. Some 65 percent of Democratic Party members and those who lean Democratic, and 52 percent of Republicans and Republican leaners think the US will be a diminished force in the world in 2050.
Meanwhile, many Americans expect the influence of China will grow, the poll found. About half of all adults expect that China definitely or probably will overtake the United States as the world’s main superpower in the next 30 years.
The public is also pessimistic about the future of the US economy, national debt and the cost of health care.
About six-in-ten say the national debt – the total amount of money the federal government has borrowed – will increase, while just 16 percent predict it will be reduced or eliminated.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, the federal debt held by the public is projected to reach 78 percent of the US gross domestic product in 2019 – up from 34 percent in 2000.
Nearly 75 percent of the public believes that the gap between rich and poor will grow in the coming decades, while 65 percent think the country will become more politically divided.
Some 62 percent of Americans say the share of people in the lower class will increase by 2050. At the same time, 46 percent predict that the relative size of the middle class will shrink.
Source: Press TV