Welcome to our weekly polling roundup, Pollapalooza.
You can see it at grocery stores, gas stations and your heating bill (though, please, not liquor stores): prices are going up. Consumer prices have risen 6.2 percent since October last year – the biggest increase since 1990 – according to a report released Wednesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Prices are rising in almost every sector, including gas, food and housing, mainly due to supply chain disruptions, labor shortages and the long-term effects of the epidemic.
Despite the mix of coverage in the media, the prevailing message from officials seems to be “don’t panic”. The Federal Reserve has predicted this period of rising prices to be “temporary” and there are signs that price growth has begun to slow. But in the meantime, Americans are worried about inflation, and most blame the Biden administration, according to a recent poll. That’s why Biden changed gears this week, to address inflation concerns from celebrating its bipartisan infrastructure bill pass.
If you haven’t seen prices rise, you’re in the minority. Six percent of U.S. adults say gas prices have risen “a lot” and 65 percent say food prices have risen “a lot,” according to the Economist / YouTube survey conducted November 6-9. According to a Morning Consult survey conducted from October 29 to November 3, one in four Americans said they spent more on groceries in October than in September. Voters have “recently experienced a sharp rise in the price of the items they want to buy.”
Americans are also hoping prices will continue to rise, especially as we head into the holiday season. A separate Morning Consult poll, conducted from October 29 to November 1, found that most Americans expected prices to be higher this year than in previous years for consumer technology, food, travel, toys and jewelry, and planned to compensate for the increase in hunting for deals. According to the First Morning Consult Poll, with the holidays approaching, consumers are most concerned about the cost of meat, products and dairy products. Forty-eight percent of Americans are “very concerned” about meat prices, 37 percent about production, and 33 percent about dairy products. A majority (46 percent) of consumers say they “often” compare prices to reduce their grocery costs.
Americans are not happy about this price increase. In a daily Cos / Civics poll conducted from October 30 to November 2, 78 percent of registered voters said they were dissatisfied with gas prices (only 5 percent said they were satisfied) and 75 percent said they were dissatisfied with gas prices. Consumables like food, clothing and household items. The dissatisfaction with consumer prices was highest among Republicans, 92 percent, compared to 57 percent Democrats and 78 percent independents.
Americans are experiencing an increase in the price of their pocketbooks. That Economist / YouGov poll found that 56 percent of Americans say gas costs were at least somewhat difficult to afford, 55 percent say the same about food and 48 percent say the same about housing costs. A Fox News poll conducted October 16-19 showed that inflation was higher than in the previous four months, with 87 percent of registered voters saying they were “too” or “extremely” concerned about inflation and high prices.
Increased prices can affect the political opinion of voters in the economy as a whole because their effects are immediately felt, which contributes to Biden’s negative approval rating. “Inflation has an inflation that is different from everything else, and it drives how people view the economy because they feel it every day when it comes to shopping at grocery stores, gas pumps or household goods,” said John Anzalon, a Democratic pollster in Los Angeles. Says.
Highlighting how voters view inflation as a political issue. According to a Politico / Morning Consult poll, a majority of registered voters (40 per cent) said that the policies of the Biden administration were “very responsible” for inflation and the majority (62 per cent) said that the policies of the administration were at least “somewhat responsible”. Conducted 16-18 October. In a Harvard / Harris poll conducted October 27-28, 56 percent of registered voters said they did not trust the Biden administration’s ability to control inflation, and 53 percent said the same about the Federal Reserve’s ability. A majority (56 percent) said that if Congress passed the $ 1.5 to $ 2 trillion social spending bill (as they are currently trying to pass) it would lead to further inflation.
While the public reaction is out of step with expert predictions, their fears should not be put aside. Some economists theorize that, without checking, the fear of inflation could make the situation worse by making a self-fulfilling prophecy where employees, fearing price hikes, demand higher wages, the cost of which employers will then cover by raising prices, resulting in higher Inflation. This happened in the 1970s and led to an almost double-digit inflation rate. No matter how short-lived the Fed thinks the price hike is, Americans are now worried.
Another polling bite
- With less than a year to go before the mid-2022 election, and approval from Biden, which has a low approval rating, may not be an attractive option for all candidates. According to the Rasmussen Reports poll, most voters (51 percent) said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate approved by the president.
- Americans are not satisfied with how Biden has handled what they say is the country’s top problem: the economy. According to a recent CNN / SSRS poll, a majority of Americans (36 percent) say the economy is the most important issue in the United States. And the majority (58 percent) said Biden did not pay enough attention to the country’s most important issues.
- The United States has stopped reducing COVID-19 cases, but many Americans are ready to go back to pre-covid life. According to a recent Axios / Ipsos poll, a small majority (55 percent) of Americans returning to their pre-covidian life is no longer a small risk or risk to their health, and 50 percent of Americans say they think they were low. Compared to April 2020, the risk of becoming infected with COVID-19 is now higher.
- About 900,000 children between the ages of 5 and 11 received their first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine one week after it was approved for that age. Before the vaccine was approved, a survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation in October found that only 27 percent of parents of children between the ages of 5 and 11 said they would vaccinate their children “now.” This dilemma was mainly about the long-term effects of the vaccine in children (76 percent of parents surveyed) and could have serious side effects from their child’s vaccine (71 percent).
- On Monday, the United States lifted travel bans for vaccinated visitors from 33 countries, including Mexico, Canada and the United Kingdom. But some international travelers do not feel comfortable traveling to the US A Morning Consult survey found that 60 percent of Canadian adults do not feel comfortable planning a trip anywhere in the United States and 41 percent of Mexican adults are uncomfortable. In Europe, 45 percent of adults in the UK, 42 percent in Germany and 36 percent in France were uncomfortable planning a trip to the United States.
Biden’s approval
According to the Five Thirty-Eight Presidential Approval Tracker, 42.5 percent of Americans approve of what Biden is doing as President, while 51.6 percent disapprove (net approval rating of -9.1 points). At this time last week, 42.7 percent approved and 50.5 percent unapproved (a net approval rating of -7.8 points). One month ago, Biden’s approval rating was 44.6 percent and a denial rating was 49.2 percent (a net approval rating of -4.6 points).
Ordinary ballot
In our general congressional ballot poll, Democrats are currently 1.3 percentage points ahead of Republicans (42.5 percent to 41.2 percent, respectively). One week ago, Democrats outscored Republicans by 2.3 percentage points (43.4 percent to 41.2 percent, respectively). At this point last month, voters favored Democrats 2.9 points (44.4 percent to 41.6 percent) more than Republicans.