Economy: main concern of Americans according to survey

The economy is the issue that worries Americans the most, according to a survey recently published by the Washington DC-based think tank Pew Research.

“As a new era of divided government dawns in Washington, the public’s top political priority has not changed,” the poll said.

“21% of Americans say economic conditions are excellent or good. That’s quite a bit lower than it was before COVID, but it’s been up for six months. So, the president faces economic headwinds; It is improving views, but it is still far from where it was before the pandemic (…) 75% of the public say they are very concerned about the increase in the prices of food and consumer goods, so it is a continuing challenge for the president,” he said in statements to the voice of america Baxter Oliphant, a senior researcher at the Pew Research Center.

“The public continues to express a negative view of national economic conditions, despite continued job growth and signs that inflation may be abating. Only 21% describe excellent or good economic conditions, which means a timid growth since October (17%),” the document underlines.

“40% of adult Americans say that a year from now they believe economic conditions will be worse than they are now, so as we enter 2023, the public is not very optimistic about economic progress, improvement substantial change in economic conditions,” Oliphant said.

On the other hand, reduce health costs (60%); defense against terrorism (60%); reduce the influence of money in politics (59%); make the medicare program financially sound (58%); Reducing the budget deficit (57%) and reducing crime (57%) are other issues that should be a priority for both President Biden and Congress, according to the Americans who participated in the study.

Yet dealing with the COVID-19 outbreak is now one of the least concerned topics for Americans: “Only 26% now say it should be a top priority for the president and Congress, but it was a top priority.” paramount in both 2021 and 2022¨.

And for 76% of the Hispanics who participated in the study, “strengthening the economy” should be the main political priority. In addition, six out of 10 members of the group believe that the deficit should also be “reduced.”

The publication of the study coincides with a poll released at the end of January by Gallup, which shows that the popularity of President Biden in his second year in office was 41%, one of the lowest according to the institution: “Among Of the post-WWII presidents elected to their first term, only Donald Trump had a lower average in the second year, but just barely, at 40.4%.”

Although during the State of the Nation address, Biden highlighted the economic achievements of his term, the Republicans questioned his management in that regard. The negotiation of the debt ceiling, carried out between the president and the new speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy, is one of the main disagreements between both parties.

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