Americans fear rising costs will worsen if Democrats retain control of Congress after the midterm election, an Axios-Ipsos poll found over the weekend.
Experts project inflation will cost American families $5,520 in 2022. Since the Democrats assumed control of the legislative and executive branches of government, Americans have lost $4,200 in annual income, a recent Heritage Foundation study shows. Sixty-one percent of general election voters believe the economy is in a recession.
According to the Ipsos poll, 43 percent of Americans fear that inflation will continue to soar under Democrat rule if the party remains in power on Capitol Hill. Only 24 percent say the same of Republicans.
The poll sampled 1,004 Americans from September 23-26 with a 3.8 point margin of error. The survey included 356 Republicans, 449 Democrats, and 126 independents.
The polling bodes poorly for Democrats because inflation is the number one issue for voters, a recent Quinnipiac poll revealed. No other issue reaches double digits.
August’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) revealed the price of food at home jumped 0.7 percent compared with the previous month. Over the past 12 months, grocery prices have gone up 13.5 percent.
“People have told me I lost weight, but I can’t afford groceries,” comedian Gary DeNoia told the New York Post. “I used to go shopping and plan my meals for the week. But [now] a FAGE yogurt is $10. A bag of Doritos is $7. It’s cheaper to eat takeout … I have never eaten this much Chinese takeout because the lunch special will last me three days.”
Briana Howard told the Post her family is struggling to afford $10 grapes from the grocer. “We’re your typical middle-income average American family,” she said, adding, “We’re more mindful at the grocery store … It’s like, ‘What do we have a coupon for?’ I mindlessly picked up a pack of $10 grapes, that’s not something I can continue to do.”
President Joe Biden has pledged to curb inflation by spending more money through legislation dubbed the “Inflation Reduction Act.” A Penn Wharton Budget Model study shows Biden’s plan will not cure inflation.
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.
