You're right that the question they used is a bit vague, but there is a ton of other data in there that points to affordability as the main cause e.g.
"Nearly a quarter of Americans have no emergency savings"
and:
"Sixty percent of Americans are uncomfortable with their level of emergency savings — 31 percent are very uncomfortable, and 29 percent are somewhat uncomfortable."
You're right that the question they used is a bit vague, but there is a ton of other data in there that points to affordability as the main cause e.g.
"Nearly a quarter of Americans have no emergency savings"
and:
"Sixty percent of Americans are uncomfortable with their level of emergency savings — 31 percent are very uncomfortable, and 29 percent are somewhat uncomfortable."