A recent poll has revealed that two-thirds of the American population believe the economy is in dire straits and almost half of the respondents see things getting worse in 2022.
According to an AP-NORC poll released on Nov. 1, the percentage of people who felt that the economy was poor shot up from 54 to 65 percent in just a month. Politically, only 55 percent of Democrats believed the economy was doing well, which is down from 63 percent last month. Among Republicans, just 15 percent thought the economy was doing good, declining from 30 percent.
47 percent of Americans feel the economy will get worse next year while only 37 percent see an improvement coming in 2022. Among Democrats, 51 percent expected good things for the economy next year while only 10 percent of Republicans held this view.
Despite holding a dismal perspective about the national economy, most Americans held the opinion that their personal finances have remained more or less steady through the course of the pandemic. In the poll, 65 percent of respondents stated their household financial situation to be good.
However, their expectation for the future is more dismal as 24 percent of Americans believed their financial situation would probably get worse over the next year, up from 13 percent in February. Just 33 percent believed in a future situation where their finances would actually improve. This figure is down from 40 percent in February.
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49 percent of Americans were confident that they would be able to pay an incidental or unexpected bill of one thousand dollars while 32 percent responded it would be a challenge for them. The poll also revealed that just 33 percent of Americans felt they would be able to manage an unexpected medical expense while 39 percent stated it was very doubtful that they would be able to bear it.
On the bright side, there was a surge in confidence levels among Americans with regards to finding new opportunities that fit their profile. 36 percent believe they will find a job, which is up from 25 percent last February when the pandemic outbreak began to spread.
The increasing pessimism about the American economy coincides with the declining popularity of President Joe Biden. The Democrat president enjoyed a wave of popularity during the initial period in office when the COVOD-19 vaccination drive across the country rocketed. However, his approval ratings are now in a steady decline.
According to a poll conducted between October 14 to 17 by CNBC All-America Economic Survey, Biden’s presidency was appreciated by only 41 percent of the respondents. 52 percent disapproved of Biden’s actions as president. The major contributing factor for this steep decline in approval rates was the way President Biden handled the economy.
