Citizens Express Dissatisfaction with America's Economic State. They Believe No Amelioration Will Occur Prior to the Election.
People ain't fussed about elections. They're still grumbling about the economy being a mess.
Regardless, the next 30 days are going to see every new economic figure spun as positive for Vice President Kamala Harris or negative for former President Donald Trump.
In truth, these figures — whether they're awful or fantastic — probably won't sway many voters. The bulk of them think the economy's heading south or is weak, as per a September survey of registered voters conducted by the Harvard Center for American Political Studies and the Harris Poll.
"The report card that folks Care about is their everyday grocery bill, not a CPI report from some government agency," said Micah Roberts, a Republican pollster who assists with nonpartisan surveys gauging voters' views on the economy for news stations.
The majority of voters probably don't pay attention to overall economic trends, let alone monthly figures. Instead, their thoughts on the economy are influenced by how far their money's going these days compared to before. And that's not so great these days.
High inflation has left a nasty taste in people's mouths
Though price increases have slower down considerably from their 40-year high in 2022, goods and services cost consumers about 20% more in August compared to February 2020, according to CPI data.
As a result, 66% of registered voters believe their family's income isn't keeping up with the cost of living, according to a September survey of 1,000 voters nationwide conducted by Roberts for NBC News. That's a larger share compared to when voters were asked the same question in 2022.
This is a big reason why many Americans aren't too fond of the country's economic state, despite the unemployment rate holding steady at historically low levels for nearly three years, Roberts told CNN.
Case in point: For over two years, around 40% of Americans who said their household financial situation was worse than it was a year ago believed it was due to higher prices, according to monthly surveys conducted by the University of Michigan.
This has contributed to consumers feeling more down in the dumps about the US economy than they have historically, according to University of Michigan surveys measuring consumer sentiment dating back to 1978. But overall, their attitude has started to improve as inflation continues to slow down.
People with more negative views of the economy are more likely to base their rating on their personal experiences or what they're hearing from others, which tends to be more negative as well, Joanne Hsu, the director of the university's Surveys of Consumers, told CNN, based on a recent poll her team fielded. However, if you get most of your information about the economy from a news outlet, there's a higher likelihood you'll have a more optimistic view of the economy because you're more likely to come across elements that paint it in a more favorable light.
But the average American doesn't wait for news to come out to form an opinion on how the economy is functioning, she said. "They're really relying more on their observations of the world around them."
The economy being a mess has led many individuals to grumble, affecting their business strategies and decisions. Despite the ongoing spins of economic figures, a September survey showed that the majority of voters believe the economy is heading south or is weak.
