16-09-2023, 04:41 PM
Susan Page
USA TODAY
Published 5:13 a.m. ET Sept 15, 2023
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In our new Suffolk University Sawyer Business School/USA TODAY Poll, 3 in 4 people volunteered words that reflected worry and worse – overwhelming the 1 in 5 who said things were good or improving or at least fair. Economists have been admiring the strong job market and the "soft landing" that has eased inflation without tipping into a recession, at least so far, but the view from the kitchen table is considerably less rosy.
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If the economic statistics are good, why do Americans feel so bad?
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There's a national consensus that the cost of living is still rising: 84% said so. Just 4% said prices were easing
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Four in 10, 39%, said their household debt has increased over the past year, double the 18% who said it has decreased. Nearly 9 of 10 said they don't plan to buy or sell a home in the next 12 months, and the reason, given by more than a third of them was that they simply can't afford to do it now.
Thirty percent say they've had to cut into their savings to pay their bills, and nearly as many say they've saved less money than usual over the past year.
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A 55% majority of Americans say they received some federal stimulus money or other federal aid during the pandemic, and it mattered to many of them.
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But three rounds of stimulus funding are over, and Congress rejected proposals to renew expanded help to pay for child care. That's one reason that Census Bureau data released Tuesday showed child poverty more than doubled last year, to 12.4% in 2022 from 5.2% in 2021.
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About 7 in 10 are going out to eat less often and spending less on clothes. Nearly 6 in 10 are delaying home improvements and canceling vacations. More than half are spending less on groceries and are trying to save on electricity costs by dialing back the settings on their home thermometers.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli...833096007/
USA TODAY
Published 5:13 a.m. ET Sept 15, 2023
......
In our new Suffolk University Sawyer Business School/USA TODAY Poll, 3 in 4 people volunteered words that reflected worry and worse – overwhelming the 1 in 5 who said things were good or improving or at least fair. Economists have been admiring the strong job market and the "soft landing" that has eased inflation without tipping into a recession, at least so far, but the view from the kitchen table is considerably less rosy.
......
If the economic statistics are good, why do Americans feel so bad?
......
There's a national consensus that the cost of living is still rising: 84% said so. Just 4% said prices were easing
......
Four in 10, 39%, said their household debt has increased over the past year, double the 18% who said it has decreased. Nearly 9 of 10 said they don't plan to buy or sell a home in the next 12 months, and the reason, given by more than a third of them was that they simply can't afford to do it now.
Thirty percent say they've had to cut into their savings to pay their bills, and nearly as many say they've saved less money than usual over the past year.
......
A 55% majority of Americans say they received some federal stimulus money or other federal aid during the pandemic, and it mattered to many of them.
......
But three rounds of stimulus funding are over, and Congress rejected proposals to renew expanded help to pay for child care. That's one reason that Census Bureau data released Tuesday showed child poverty more than doubled last year, to 12.4% in 2022 from 5.2% in 2021.
......
About 7 in 10 are going out to eat less often and spending less on clothes. Nearly 6 in 10 are delaying home improvements and canceling vacations. More than half are spending less on groceries and are trying to save on electricity costs by dialing back the settings on their home thermometers.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/poli...833096007/