Most Americans are hurt by inflation and gas prices, believe the federal government is only making things worse, and are pessimistic about where things are going, with a whopping 88% saying the US is on the wrong track, a new opinion poll indicates.
The level of concern about the direction the US is heading is the highest since 2013, the year the Monmouth University Polling Institute started asking the question, it said as it released the results of the latest survey on Wednesday. Just 10% approve of the direction, down from 42% in January 2021.
The performance of Joe Biden as president is perceived in an increasingly negative way, with 36% approving of the job he’s done and 58% disapproving. Congress is doing even worse, with a whopping 78% disapproval rating.
Economic and financial troubles are what the majority of Americans are most concerned about. Inflation and gas prices were the highest concerns on the list, 33% and 15% respectively. Nine percent said they were most worried about the state of the economy, and 6% pointed to daily expenses such as bills and groceries.
Covid-19 was named the greatest concern by just 1%, down from 18% in December and 39% in August of last year. Five percent pointed to abortion rights, which had been under 1% in previous polls.
Federal government policies in the last six months have hurt the situation regarding their most pressing concerns, according to 57% of Americans. Just 8% say the policies have helped, and 34% say Washington does not have any impact on the issues that concern them most. One year ago, 31% said government policies were improving things, and 34% said the opposite was true.
Just 23% expect the government to do better and help them out over the next year, while 45% believe it will only make things worse.
Almost as many people (42%) said they were struggling with their financial situation as those who described it as stable (47%). Less than one in ten Americans (9%) said it was improving. The number of people with money problems jumped by 18 points since last year, with the increase spread across the board for various demographic groups selected for income, race, and political preference, the pollster said.
The survey was conducted by telephone in late June with 978 adults. The results of other recent polls show similarly negative attitudes towards the policies of the government and the direction the US is going.