Not too long ago, terrorism ranked as the top threat to the state of the American economy. This is no longer the case, as bad credit has now become the leading cause of concern.

According to a new report from National Association of Business Economics, 32% of its members that it polled are now placing the country's rising debt concerns as the biggest threat to the health of the economy.

The last time the group ran this same poll was back in March, at which terrorism topped the list of worries. The current poll shows that the threat of terrorism is considered a top worry by only 20% of the people in the survey.

The credit concerns began earlier this year when cracks in the subprime mortgage business started to become exposed. At first, it was hoped that the subprime problems would be minimal, or at best contained, but these hopes have vanished over the past few weeks as the ripple effect has been spreading across the entire market.

The past month has witnessed a five percent drop in the stock market, and the dollar falling to an all time low against its main benchmark, the euro.

The good news, is that the mortgage meltdown is still being considered a short term threat. Prices have been falling, no doubt about that, but looking 4 or 5 years down the road most experts are expecting to see homes gaining in value as opposed to further deterioration in value. One can only hope that they are right.