Respondents to the poll in the US called inflation the "most important issue facing America." Concerns over inflation are by no means partisan: nearly 69% of Democrats say inflation affects their lives at least to "some" extent. Seventy-nine percent of independents and 90% of Republicans say the same.
Additionally, 51% of survey participants said they’re worried they "won’t be able to afford what they need during the holidays due to inflation,” while 45% agreed with the statement that they "won’t be able to get what they need" due to shortages.
When asked who deserves "the most" blame for skyrocketing prices, more US poll participants said Biden than the pandemic.
The study was conducted between 17 and 19 November 2021 among 1,696 adults and has a margin of error of +/- 2.6 percent.
Yahoo News suggests that the unfolding situation partly explains why Biden's approval rating has been steadily plummeting over the last few months, sinking to 38% in the beginning of November, according to a Suffolk University survey. Unlike more favorable economic indicators such as quarterly GDP growth and the lowest unemployment rates since 1969, "inflation is the kind of day-to-day problem that every American experiences firsthand," according to the media outlet.
In September, inflation "barely registered as a top concern," remarked Breitbart. In October, however, consumer prices went up, with inflation hitting a 31-year high, triggering frustration among many.
The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers jumped 6.2% for the year ending in October, amid supply-chain bottlenecks and a higher than normal demand for goods, according to the US Bureau of Labour Statistics.
"Prices for all items less food and energy rose 4.6% over the last 12 months, the largest 12-month increase since the period ending August 1991," the agency said. "Energy prices rose 30.0% over the last 12 months, and the food index increased 5.3%."
It appears that the so-called 'Bidenflation' is ringing alarm bells in the nation: Gallup's Economic Confidence Index, which summarises Americans' view of the economy has sunk to -29, close to the worst levels of -32 and -33 registered amid the April 2020 peak of the first wave of the pandemic.
The Federal Reserve has long insisted that inflation will be "transitory." Newly released documents from the November meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, however, show that the officials have admitted that the trend is intense and could be long-lasting. The meeting summary also indicates that the Fed could raise interest rates sooner than anticipated.
"Various participants noted that the Committee should be prepared to adjust the pace of asset purchases and raise the target range for the federal funds rate sooner than participants currently anticipated if inflation continued to run higher than levels consistent with the Committee’s objectives,” according to a meeting document.
Previously, the Fed dropped interest rates to near zero in response to the pandemic, a move which arguably added fuel to the flames of inflation, according to the Epoch Times. At the same time, many economists blame the Biden administration’s $1.9 trillion stimulus package, while others suggest that imbalances in the economy were created by the Covid-19 pandemic, which eventually contributed to the spike.
Rising inflation and growing frustration over the trend might affect Biden's Build Back Better plan, according to Yahoo News. Both Republicans and moderate Democrats such as West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin cast doubt over the president's $1.75 trillion social spending package. Currently, an estimated 48% of Americans support the bill while 43% fear that it would "increase" inflation, the media outlet suggested.