Most Americans worry Japanese disaster will hurt domestic economy

A majority of Americans expect the aftermath of the Japanese earthquake will drag down the U.S. economy, according to a new poll.

In a new poll from Rasmussen Reports, 60 percent of Americans said they expect the earthquake and resulting problems will hurt the United States economically. Another 15 percent believe it will have no impact, while 10 percent think it will actually boost America’s economy.

In the immediate sense, the earthquake, tsunami, and subsequent struggles to contain damaged Japanese nuclear reactors shook market confidence early in the week. Stock markets around the globe tumbled the first few days – the Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 200 points minutes after the market opened Wednesday morning. The Nasdaq and S&P 500 saw quick falls also, shrinking by roughly two percent.

However, the financial markets rebounded slightly to close out the week.

In currency markets, the economic fallout from Japan’s crisis led the major industrial nations that constitute the G-7 to announce Thursday their plans to intervene and stabilize the price of the yen. The extraordinary action was in response to rapid strengthening of the yen versus the dollar, which may have threatened Japan’s ability to recover from the crisis.

While most Americans are worried what Japan’s crisis will mean for the American economy, Rasmussen reports that most do not plan to contribute money to Japanese relief efforts. Of the 1,000 likely voters surveyed, just 28 percent said they have or will contribute money to such efforts – 46 percent said they will not give, and another 26 percent said they have not decided yet.