New York: More millennials than members of Generation X or baby boomers think a Wall Street crash is the biggest threat to the US economy. Fifteen per cent of people 23 to 38 years old see a stock market decline as the biggest danger to the economy in the next six months, which compares with 10 per cent of Gen Xers and baby boomers, a survey by Bankrate.com showed.

While concerns about stocks varies by generation, nearly half of Americans of all ages say national politics pose the biggest risk, according to the poll. Three times as many people are concerned about politics in Washington sinking the economy than are worried about terrorism, international developments, a decline in the stock market or Federal Reserve policy, according to the survey. (More Republicans than Democrats pointed to political woes as the biggest risk.)

“We’re living in tumultuous times politically,” Mark Hamrick, Bankrate’s senior economic analyst, said. “The irony is that one thing that people can agree on is that they agree polarisation exist. It’s an acknowledgement of agreeing to disagree.”