Nearly four-in-10 Americans are concerned about having enough money to pay all of their bills on time, according to a new report, which is an even higher percentage than during the Great Recession of 2008-09.
The poll, from CNN, found that 39% of Americans worry about paying their bills most or all of the time. That’s a 33% increase since the worst days of Bidenflation, higher than the 37% during the 2008 crisis, when joblessness was nearly 10%.
Inflation during the Biden-Harris administration has reached new heights in the modern era, and while it has eased somewhat in recent months, it remains stubbornly high, raising the costs of food, gasoline, housing, and other basic amenities like utilities. CNN added that “consumers are still trying to catch up to the price spikes of the last few years.”
The Daily Signal, citing the survey, added:
Still trying to catch up is an understatement. The gap between nominal wages and inflation-adjusted wages since 2021 is more than 20%. So, it looks like you’re making a lot more, but even accounting for official inflation, workers have lost thousands in income.
Of course, if official inflation is a lie, which seems likely, going by real-world prices from housing to restaurants and groceries, then workers have lost a lot more.
To illustrate, official inflation since COVID-19 is 21%, but fast-food menu prices—a standard finance proxy for true inflation—are up more than twice that, while housing costs have doubled since COVID-19, between rising house prices and rising mortgage rates.
If those real-world numbers are closer to true inflation, then workers have lost potentially thousands per month.
CNN also reported that 35 percent of respondents, or more than one-third, said they have had to take on additional part-time work to make ends meet. That amounts to 44% of blacks, 52% of Latinos, and nearly half of workers under age 45.
“That explains why jobs are rising on paper, yet the actual number of employed Americans is plunging—down 600,000 in the past eight months alone,” the Daily Signal noted.
According to the poll, over two-thirds of Americans are reducing their grocery spending, and nearly half are reducing their driving to save on gas. Additionally, 4 in 10 Americans are currently using credit cards to pay for essentials such as groceries and gas.
According to Labor Department data released earlier this month, employers only added 114,000 jobs in July, falling short of the 175,000 gain forecast by LSEG economists. In addition, the jobless rate unexpectedly increased to 4.3% from 4.1%, despite predictions that it would remain stable.
“It marked the highest level for the jobless rate since October 2021,” Fox Business reported.
“Temperatures might be hot around the country, but there’s no summer heatwave for the job market,” said ManpowerGroup North America president Becky Frankiewicz. “With across-the-board cooling, we have lost most of the gains we saw from the first quarter of the year.”
A Financial Times-Michigan Ross poll released in May found that former President Donald Trump was trusted more on the economy than President Joe Biden, who had not yet left the race, by 8 points, 43–35 percent.
“In another worrying sign for the White House, the monthly FT-Michigan Ross survey has consistently found voters trust Trump more than Biden when it comes to handling the economy,” according to the poll analysis, noting that Trump has gained 2 points since the previous survey.
Only 28% of voters say Biden has helped the economy, with a 58% disapproval rating compared to just 40% approval.
The challenge for Vice President Kamala Harris is to separate herself from Biden’s economic policies, which she has touted on a number of occasions in the past. Also, she’s been inextricably linked to his White House as part of the “Biden-Harris administration,” and by remarks from Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre this week who said there is “no daylight” between Biden and Harris in terms of economic and other policies.
