penny trusty
Penny Trusty, a retired software designer, poses for a photo in her home in Rockville, Md., Thursday, Dec. 26, 2013.
A new opinion poll indicates that a majority of Americans believe the United States will be on a downward spiral for decades.

The poll conducted by Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research said 54 percent of those surveyed expect American life to go downhill by 2050. Fifty-four percent of respondents said life in the United States is worse today than four decades ago when asked to rate the change in American life from 1972 until 2012.

According to the survey, 23 percent think life will improve and 21 percent predict life will remain the same. Middle-aged, older, and those who earn mid-level incomes are pessimistic about the future.

"I really worry about my grandchildren, I do," said 74-year-old Penny Trusty of Rockville, Md., a retired software designer and grandmother of five. "I worry about the lowering of morals and the corruption and the confusion that's just raining down on them."