Americans are not feeling good about the state of the economy, and it’s a big problem for President Biden.
Even as numerous indicators suggest the U.S. economy is doing remarkably well in the postpandemic era, poll after poll has shown that consumers don’t view the economy in the same light.
Nearly 3 in 5 Americans in a recent Harris poll said the U.S. is in a recession, despite a record number of new jobs added under Biden and the longest stretch of unemployment below 4 percent since the 1960s.
While two popular measures of consumer opinion — the University of Michigan’s index of consumer sentiment and the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index — have ticked up since mid-2022, they remain well below the level expected based on recent economic data.
This dour economic mood could spell trouble for Biden as he vies for reelection against former President Trump this November — as inflation and the economy remain top of mind for voters, a recent ABC News/Ipsos Poll found that more Americans trust Trump on both issues than Biden.
Experts say everything from the lingering impacts of 40-year high inflation to a shifting media landscape are behind this persistent divide between how Americans feel about the economy and what the data shows.
“Prices are something that people feel every day,” said Shernette McLeod, an economist with TD Economics. “They go to the grocery store, they go to the gas station, and prices are rising.”
After reaching a four-decade high of 9.1 percent in June 2022, inflation has eased significantly, falling to 3.4 percent as of April. However, even as inflation improves, Americans are still grappling with a rapid increase in prices.
“Even though we say inflation is coming down, they’re still seeing higher price levels,” McLeod told The Hill. “They remember back in 2019, when prices were this much, and now they’re 20 percent higher or, for some things, 30 or 40 percent higher.”
While consumer prices are up just 3.4 percent since last April, they are up about 24 percent since January 2019 and 19 percent since the start of Biden’s presidency in January 2021.
Many Americans have not experienced inflation of this scale previously in their lifetimes, McLeod noted.
Read more at Thehill.com
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