95 Percent of Americans Affected by High Inflation: Poll

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Nearly 100 percent of Americans say they have been affected by soaring inflation, according to a new poll.

The Economist/YouGov survey asked, “How much have you felt the impact of this high inflation in your own life?” to which 95 percent said it has affected them at least “a little,” while 56 percent said it has impacted them “a lot.”

Of those who answered that inflation has impacted them “a lot,” an overwhelming 65 percent are 45 to 64 years old, while 62 percent are individuals earning less than $50,000 a year.

Ninety-eight percent of those who said they have been affected by inflation are Republicans, while 94 percent are Democrats, according to the survey.

The survey of 1,500 U.S. adult citizens age 18 and over was conducted from Aug. 7 to Aug. 9, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.9 percent (adjusted for weighting), and plus or minus 3 percent (registered voters).

The survey was released as inflation reached 8.5 percent on an annual basis in the United States in July, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, down from June’s 9.1 percent high, suggesting that rising prices appear to have slowed on a month-over-month basis.

However, prices in some sectors pushed higher, such as the food at home index, which rose 1.3 percent in July and rose 13.1 percent over the last 12 months. The cost of shelter also rose both annually and monthly, climbing 5.7 percent over the year and 0.6 percent over the month, while energy is up 32.9 percent over the past year.

Inflation Hitting Households

Elsewhere, the electricity index increased in July, rising 1.6 percent, and 15.2 percent year over year, marking the largest 12-month increase since the period ended in February 2006.

Gasoline, meanwhile, fell 7.1 percent in July, but is still up 44 percent from a year ago; the fuel oil index has risen 75.6 percent.

Inflation is now costing U.S. households an extra $717 a month, according to a new analysis from the Joint Economic Committee Republicans (JECR).

The JECR calculated the figure by comparing prices for goods and services in July versus how much they would have cost households in January 2021, when inflation wasn’t rapidly rising and remained at historical norms of 1.4 percent.

“On average, prices did not increase from June 2022 to July 2022. However, prices have increased 13.3 percent from January 2021 to July 2022, costing the average American household $717 last month alone,” the JECR noted in a statement.

“Even if prices stop increasing altogether, the inflation that has already occurred will cost the average American household $8,607 over the next 12 months.”

In an effort to curb rising prices, House Democrats passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) in a strictly party-line vote on Aug. 12; the legislation is expected to be signed soon by President Joe Biden. The measure includes large investments toward making health care and prescription drugs more affordable, fighting climate change, and taxing large corporations and the wealthy.

When respondents were asked in the Economist/YouGov poll if they believe the IRA would increase or decrease inflation, 40 percent said they believe it will increase it, while 12 percent said it would decrease inflation. A further 23 percent said they believe the IRA won’t change inflation.