Survey: Half of Americans Worse Off Than Year Ago

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Facts

• In a new Gallup survey, 50% of Americans have claimed that they are financially worse off now than they were the previous year — the highest percentage since the Great Recession over a decade ago.¹
• The latest results are based on answers received between Jan. 2 - Jan. 22, with 35% of Americans stating they are better off than they were a year ago, compared to an even split between the two choices in the two years prior, with 41%-41% in 2022.²
• When split up by income, 61% of respondents from lower-income groups said that their financial situation had worsened over the past year, compared with 49% from middle-income groups and 43% from upper-income groups.³
• Despite this, 60% of people revealed that they expected to be better off financially a year from now, while only 28% expected to be worse off.⁴
• This comes after Biden asserted his desire to build the economy 'from the bottom up and the middle out' rather than the top down at his second State of the Union (SOTU) address Tuesday, also noting record-low unemployment, job growth, and inflationary decline but that there is still work to be done.⁵

Sources: ¹Axios, ²Gallup.com, ³Cgtn, ⁴Money and ⁵CNBC.

Narratives

• Republican narrative, as provided by Rsbnetwork. Biden is blaming inflation on the pandemic rather than his reactionary policies to it, and many of his comments at the SOTU highlight the real danger of his administration's attempts to arbitrarily control the markets rather than support them. Such a strategy has historically only taken power away from the average worker and destroyed nations — under Biden, the US economy looks likely to continue to suffer.
• Democratic narrative, as provided by New York Times. Americans' economic woes aren't unfounded, but it's Biden's agenda that's keeping hope alive. In a U-turn from years past, the president is calling out corporate corruption and tax evasion while highlighting the importance of a strong working class. Even Republicans, albeit grudgingly, applauded some of the president's speech, which — along with the poll's optimism surrounding the economy's future — shows the American people are willing to latch onto the hopeful message Biden has for the country.

Predictions