Poll: 63% of Americans Are Suffering From Financial Hardship Due To Rising Prices

The latest poll from Gallup shows Americans continue to face financial hardship from inflation. Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index has remained in negative territory since the pandemic, reaching historic lows as inflation reached its highest point in 40 years in June 2022 and gas prices soared to new records. Although Democrats are showing optimism about the economy’s trajectory, 51 percent of Democrats are suffering from financial hardship due to inflation.

According to Gallop, a majority of Americans are pessimistic about the economy under President Joe Biden and a majority believe that it the economy is going to get worse. Additionally, the data shows that 63 percent of respondents say recent price increases have caused financial hardship for their families.

The largest share of Americans, 45%, rate current economic conditions in the country as poor, while just over one-quarter describe conditions as excellent (5%) or good (22%) and another 29% believe they are only fair. In December, 22% of U.S. adults rated the economy as excellent or good.

Currently, 63% of Americans say the economy is getting worse, 30% say it is improving, and 4% think it is staying the same. Last month, 68% of Americans thought the economy was worsening.

Data from a nationally representative Jan. 2-16 web survey using Gallup’s probability-based panel show 63% of U.S. adults say recent price increases have caused financial hardship for their family. This includes 17% who say it is a severe hardship affecting their ability to maintain their standard of living and 46% who report it is a moderate hardship but does not jeopardize their standard of living. Another 37% of Americans say inflation is not a hardship at all.

Back in November, 2023, The Globe reported that Nevadans are spending over $13,000 per household due to Bidenomics.

The average Nevadan household must spend an additional $13,296 per year just to maintain the same standard of living they enjoyed in January of 2021, right before inflation soared to 40-year highs, according to a recent analysis of government data.

To break it down further, inflation adds up to an extra $1,108 monthly cost per Nevada household. Nevadans are spending an additional $146 on food, $237 on shelter, and $324 on energy costs since Biden took office.

In May 2022, The Globe reported that Nevadan households were hit the hardest by inflation. At that time, Nevadans were paying an additional $8,231 annually for basic household expenses. The increase in monthly costs for average Nevada households were as follows: Food: $70; Shelter: $113; Transportation: $306; Energy: $175.

Based on these recent estimates, Nevadans have nearly doubled their monthly expenses in just one year.

Inflation is not only a drag on American households, but is also a drag on President Biden’s approval numbers.

An ABC News/Ipsos poll, conducted the first week of January spells bad news for Biden. Only 33 percent of those surveyed said they approved President Biden’s job performance, a record low in his presidency and for any president in the last 15 years. In his bid for reelection, Biden has a lower approval rating than former President Donald Trump, who recently swept the Iowa and New Hampshire caucuses and will also sweep the Nevada caucus as his GOP challenger, Niki Haley, opted for the state-run primary.

We learned last week that inflation was at the pre-pandemic benchmark of 2 percent over the last six months of 2023.

That's a milestone. pic.twitter.com/kO3Z9gz8Dd

— President Biden (@POTUS) January 30, 2024

Although Biden maintains that inflation has reached 2 percent, the Administration’s inflation numbers do not account for food and energy costs which remain higher than when Biden assumed office. According to a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, grocery prices have increased by 20 percent, energy prices have increased 38 percent, and gasoline prices have increased 52 percent.