Ian Patrick, FISM News
If there’s anything that most Americans are looking to hear from President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech on Tuesday, it would be a magical fix to the crushing inflation that has been around since the beginning of his term.
According to two recent polls, Americans are continuing to struggle in the current economy. In some cases, these struggles are setting new records.
A CBS News/YouGov poll, suggests that even though there has been slight, though still insignificant, improvement in Americans’ views of the economy, the majority of Americans have a poor outlook on America’s current financial state.
According to the results, 33% of surveyed Americans view the economy as “good” while 61% view it as being “bad.” This is an improvement on the question from the week prior in which only 28% say the economy as “good” and 66% saw it as “bad.”
Of this comparison, CBS News writes that Americans are viewing the economy somewhat more positively, “though they remain a long way from good.”
Americans are more apt to put blame on Democrats for what happens to the economy in 2023. When asked who would be responsible “a lot” for the economy next year, Joe Biden and Congressional Democrats topped the list with 48% and 43%, respectively.
Worse yet, 38% of Americans believe the economy will be in recession next year while 24% believe it will be slowing down. Another 20% expect it to grow, even boom, and 18% expect a steady year.
Similarly, an ABC News/Washington Post poll shows a record-breaking number of Americans have seen a decline in their personal financial situation since Biden was elected to office.
According to this poll, 41% of Americans said that their finances were worse now than when Biden assumed the presidency while 16% say they are doing better. As ABC writes, the “worse off” number represents “the most in nearly three dozen ABC/Post polls to ask the question since 1986, when Ronald Reagan … held office.”
To make matters worse for Biden, ABC’s polling data shows much better numbers mid-way through the Trump presidency. In November 2018, 25% of Americans listed they were better off since the beginning of his presidency compared to 13% who said they were worse off in the same time period.
When split by political party, Republicans and Democrats tend to favor a presidential member from their party when contemplating how better or worse off they are.
For example, 30% of Democrats said they are better off now compared to 12% who said they were worse off. When compared to November 2018 during Trump’s presidency, only 5% said they were better off and 20% said they were worse off.
Those who label themselves as politically independent prove to be a more accurate reflection of the numbers. Under Trump 25% said they were better off and 11% said they were doing worse, while under Biden, 14% said their financial situation was better and 39% said it was worse.