FUTURE LOOKS BRIGHT, POLL SAYS; AMERICANS UPBEAT ABOUT NATION, LIVES.

Byline: James A. Duffy Knight Ridder Newspapers

Despite the recent political turmoil, most Americans are very pleased with the state of the union and are increasingly positive about the country's future and their own, according to a new national survey released Tuesday by the Gallup Organization.

Americans were more optimistic than they have been at any of seven points in the past when the Gallup Organization made similar measurements, starting in 1964. Most said they expect their lives to be better in five years than they are now.

Some 85 percent of Americans described themselves as generally satisfied with the way things were going in their personal lives. That number has risen steadily since the 1980s, Gallup experts said.

The polling organization surveyed 5,001 adults between April 23 and May 31. The results have a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points.

The telephone polling was done before the international financial crisis disrupted the growth trend in the stock market, but after the Monica Lewinsky scandal rocked the White House and the nation.

More Americans do worry about the country becoming increasingly divided between haves and have-nots. But only 39 percent agree the division actually exists.

Twenty-four percent of Americans describe themselves as have-nots who worry about household finances most or all of the time, and see their money situation as worse than their parents', Gallup found.

That is an increase from a 1988 Gallup study in which 17 percent of those questioned described themselves as have-nots. Those who feel this way are, predictably, those with low incomes and limited education, the study found.

The proportion of Americans describing themselves as haves also has increased since 1988 - from 59 percent to 67 percent. There were increases in both categories because the proportions of those surveyed who saw themselves as neither or who were uncertain declined.

More people today - compared with 1990 - believe the number of people who live in poverty is decreasing, while the proportion who are rich is increasing. Most of those questioned were reluctant to describe themselves as either rich or poor. Some 61 percent said they were middle income, while just 12 percent described themselves as rich and 27 percent said they were poor.

Only about one in seven Americans said they were saving enough for retirement, while one in five said they are not saving at all. Ninety-one percent of those polled said they do not ``think poverty will ever be done away with in this country.''

``The public clearly expects the government to be involved in helping to improve the situation of the have-nots in society, mainly through education and job training,'' the study reported.

The report also found that Americans are more troubled that poverty exists than they are disturbed by the existence of disproportionate wealth. Eighty-one percent of those polled said there is ``plenty of opportunity and everyone who works hard can go as far as they want.''

More than half of Americans polled - 52 percent - said they do not have computers in their home. Sixty-three percent of those asked said they do not use the Internet or other computer online services.

HAVES vs. HAVE-NOTS

Some key numbers from a Gallup social survey released Tuesday on haves and have-nots. The phone survey of 5,001 people, conducted April 23 to May 31, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2 percentage points:

If you had to choose which of these groups you are in, the haves, or the have-nots? Haves 67 percent, have-nots 24 percent, neither 6 percent.

How often do you worry that your total family income will not be enough to meet your family's expenses or bills all of the time, most of the time, some of the time, or almost never? All/most of the time - April-May 1998, 21 percent; June 1989, 26 percent; January 1987, 31 percent; January 1984, 35 percent; January 1976, 26 percent.

Would you say that the percentage of Americans who are rich is increasing from year to year or decreasing from year to year? Increasing - 74 percent in 1998, 65 percent in 1990.

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Box: Haves vs. have-nots (see text)