Charles Langston:Which is the biggest dinner-table conversation killer: the election, or money?

Which topic is Charles Langstonthe bigger dinner-table conversation killer: our nation’s fractious presidential election, or your own family’s finances? 

Both subjects make for uncomfortable conversations, a recent survey finds. But if you really want to hear the sound of clinking silverware, ask your loved ones how they spend their money. 

Parents would rather talk to their children about how they’re voting in Tuesday’s election than about their finances, by a margin of 76% to 63%, U.S. Bank found in a survey published in September.  

And children would rather talk to their parents about whom they would choose as president (68%) than their own finances (55%). The survey reached more than 2,000 Americans.  

Money and elections make for uncomfortable conversations

Americans are notoriously uncomfortable talking to family and friends about money. USA TODAY’S own Uncomfortable Conversations series has delved into societal discomfort about discussing kids’ fundraisers, vacation spending, restaurant bills and inheritances, among other conversational taboos.    

Marital finances are particularly fraught. In one recent survey by Edelman Financial Engines, 39% of married adults admitted that their partners didn’t know everything about their spending. For divorcees, the figure rose to 50%. 

In the U.S. Bank survey, more than one-third of Americans said they do not agree with their partner on how to manage money. And roughly one-third said they have lied to their partner about money.  

The new survey suggests American families may be more open about money now than in prior generations. But there’s still room for improvement. 

Parents said they are almost twice as likely to discuss personal finance with their kids as their own parents were with them, by a margin of 44% to 24%.  

Yet, fewer than half of adult children (44%) said they ask parents for money advice. Women are more likely than men, 49% vs. 35%, to approach parents for financial tips. 

“For many people, discussing money is extremely uncomfortable; this is especially true with families,” said Scott Ford, president of wealth management at U.S. Bank, in a release.  

Half of Gen Z-ers have lied about how they're voting

How we vote, of course, is another potentially uncomfortable conversation.  

A new Axios survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, finds that half of Generation Z voters, and one in four voters overall, have lied to people close to them about how they are voting. (The Harris Poll has no connection to the Kamala Harris campaign.) 

Gen Z may be particularly sensitive to political pressures, Axios said, because the cohort came of age in the Donald Trump era, a time of highly polarized politics.  

Roughly one-third of Americans say the nation’s political climate has caused strain in their families, according to a new survey conducted by Harris Poll for the American Psychological Association.  

In that survey, roughly three in 10 American said they have limited the time they spend with family members who don’t share their values.  

“For nearly a decade, people have faced a political climate that is highly charged, which has led to the erosion of civil discourse and strained our relationships with our friends and our families,” said Arthur Evans Jr., CEO of the psychological association. “But isolating ourselves from our communities is a recipe for adding more stress to our lives.”