US Economy - bleak future reported by Pew Research Center: Most Americans predict a weaker US economy and greater deficit by 2050 - by Matt Lavietes

The majority of Americans predict a weaker U.S. economy and a burgeoning national debt by 2050, according to a study by the Pew Research Center.

The researchers attribute economic fears to Americans’ broader dissatisfaction with the country as a whole right now.

Over half of those surveyed, 54 percent, believe that the U.S. economy will be weaker in the next three decades, compared with 38 percent who say it will be stronger. Similarly, 63 percent of Americans say the national debt will grow, compared with 16 percent of Americans who think it will be reduced or eliminated and 21 percent who say it will remain relatively the same.

“These grim predictions mirror, in part, the public’s sour mood about the current state of the country, ” wrote the authors of the study, which was released Thursday. “The share of Americans who are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the country — 7-in-10 in January of 2019 — is higher now than at any time in the past year.”

Read more at: Most Americans predict a weaker US economy and greater deficit by 2050

US election 2016: Divided nation split into 'alien tribes'

More like "alien tribes" than rival parties. That's how the Pew Research Center describes how the two sides in an increasingly divided America see each other.

They can't stand the other side's viewpoint - and because hyper-partisan news and social media enables them to live in ideological isolation - they don't even have to try to understand it.

The BBC's Franz Strasser looks at the demographic trends that have made the US increasingly divided.

Read more: US election 2016: Divided nation split into 'alien tribes' - BBC News