By CASEY HARPER | THE CENTER SQUARE
Nearly half of Americans report that the recent spike in inflation is making it harder to make ends meet, according to a new poll.
Monmouth University released a poll Wednesday showing 46% of those polled are “currently struggling to remain where they are financially.”
That figure is the highest point recorded by this pollster since President Joe Biden took office and far higher than during his predecessor’s term.
“In polls conducted between 2022 and 2023, this number ranged between 37% and 44%,” Monmouth said in its report. “In prior polls from 2017 to 2021, this sentiment was much lower at 20% to 29%.”
Prices have risen about 20% since Biden took office, a huge increase across all kinds of goods and services. Now, inflation is rising much slowly than the breakneck pace earlier in Biden’s term.
“Even with a declining inflation rate, prices continue to be much higher than they were four years ago,” Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute, said in the report. “That’s the metric that has really mattered to many Americans over the past two years. Economic concerns may not be the top motivating factor for all voters but it defines the contours of this year’s election.”
However, prices continue to rise faster than economists would like. Inflation slowed last month, a reprieve after months of elevated inflation. Whether that slowing is a blip on the radar or a turning point remains to be seen.
For now, Biden has to grapple with the major price increase during his term this election cycle.
The polling does show an equal percentage of Americans think either Biden or Trump cares about their economic woes.
“The overwhelming narrative is that a large segment of the American public feels it is financially behind the eight ball,” Murray said. “It is true that voters who feel more comfortable with their economic situation are likely to support Biden. But despite continued Democratic efforts to tout rosy economic indicators, the tactic of telling financially pessimistic voters they should feel differently does not appear to be working.”
The poll surveyed 1,106 adults from June 1 to June 6.
Actually no, I enjoy lying awake at night worrying how to pay bills and about where to find a third part-time job. It is a great thing for my kids to experience want. Hunger and going without favored foods teaches a good life lesson, like compulsive weeding of the essential garden. We should all thank Bidenomics for letting us experience the things we only read about in The Grapes Of Wrath and heard about from The Great Depression.
Haha.
Maybe when everyone hits rock bottom and face bankruptcy they will get a clue about the wonderful lessons of how effective Bidenomics really is.
Inflation, congress and the fed are thieves for allowing currency debasement.
Duh.
Please remember stock buy backs, record executive compensation and record corporate profits have nothing to do with rising prices, it’s all Brandon’s fault.
The reason there are record profits is because inflation has caused the dollar to be worth less than it was. In order to have the same amount of value as three years ago you need 20% more dollars. In other words if a company made $1,000,000 profit three years ago they would need to make $1,200,000 this year to make the same value of profit. While the dollar amount might be greater the spending value of that dollar is lower.
Public school grad?
Alaska has had shipping increase’s on top of inflation nation wide, 10 million illegals, energy are at least some of the drivers.
A lot of good hard working people are hurting right now.
I just got back from a quick trip to the store and walked out with three bags, the contents of those three bags cost me $105 and almost everything I bought was “on sale”.
Yes on sale they jack up the price and have a sale to sell it at the real price. I don’t see any food stores going broke.
A new Center for American Progress Action Fund analysis finds that the across-the-board tariff proposed by convicted felon Trump would amount to a roughly $1,500 annual tax increase for the typical household, including a $90 tax increase on food, a $90 tax increase on prescription drugs, and a $120 tax increase on oil and petroleum products.
Oh my god….another “yeah but Trump” commenter. Better get back to your glass of wine Kathy Lee.
Yawn.
Do you mean the guy convicted by a corrupt jury. A jury with 2 New York attorneys on it and a judge presiding that’s daughter works for old Georgie the commie soros . That convicted felon. ?. No corruption here.
I think the number of people that are actually suffering with the high cost of living is much higher. If the leftist’s would admit that they too are struggling, that would mean that they would have to admit that Biden’s Presidency was a disaster 😳
The half of Anericans who are struggling can’t possibly be the ones moving out here to the Valley buying up all these brand new homes being built in overdrive speed. Even though Valley real estate is the least expensive in Alaska, these new homes aren’t cheap. These folks are either going into deep debt or are bringing equity in from the liberal sewers they’re flooding in from.
It’s sad watching this beautiful boreal forest transform into suburbia, but I suppose it’s a whole lot better than being an Anchorage resident watching his neighborhood transform into a homeless encampment with the blessing of the city assembly. Where’s Benny Stevens? Is he “Valley Trash” yet, or is he holding out until somebody pitches a tent on his front lawn? Boy, did his slur turn about and disembowel his arrogance!
I can tell you I’m struggling. I paid $9.38 for a bag of organic grapes today at Fred Meyer. Granted, I could have purchased the non-organic ones. I’m sure the troll farm will go apesh*t on my comment because of course if you can’t afford organic fruit, don’t buy it. Right? So force those prices up so high that I’m forced to succumb to bioaccumulation of dozens of toxic pesticides and herbicides? I guess that’s the trade off I come back to every time. Considering how long I’ve tried to protect my family by making good food choices, including running a school garden club for several years running, I have to tell you that I feel the pain. $9.38 for a bag of grapes is outrageous. I’m still hanging in there, but for people just a few rungs lower than me on the economic ladder, that kind of price is a scandal. It’s just rude. It’s just heartbreaking. And it is the result of decades of bad economic policies, culminating in the global Covid lockdowns.
If you had $5,000 when Biden took office, its now worth about $4,000.
Democrats and Republicans that support deficit spending are to blame.
True, but if you had purchased gold, that 5k is now worth $6200.
Until everyone understands that the federal reserve note is fiat currency and that it only exists because it backs up the petrodollar, news stories like this will happen forever.
Fiat currencies always inflate to nothing and fail. In the hundreds of times throughout history they’ve been attempted, they’ve never worked.
A good indicator of how Alaskans (and the nation in general) are hurting is on the Facebook Marketplace page. A lot of once expensive toys are for sale such as trucks, boats, atvs, etc. Next, we’ll start seeing condos and then houses flooding Zillow! The official CPI lie is just that. Elections have consequences.
Rand Paul 2028