Monroe Review

A recent Gallup survey has found that Michigan residents and most Americans have lost confidence in the economy, according to a New York Times report.  

“There was a lot of optimism a year ago," Harvard economist Karen Dynan told the New York Times. "We’d gotten the vaccines faster than we’d thought, and we thought our lives were going to be able to go back to normal, and people just expected the economy to come along with that. And maybe that was a little naïve.”

The newspaper reported that gross domestic product (GDP) numbers indicate that the economy has recovered since the COVID-19 pandemic began, yet inflation has squashed much of the economic progress.

Gas prices continue to be among the biggest sectors affected by inflation, with AAA reporting that the regular gas national average is $3.49 per gallon for regular gas compared to $3.31 a month ago with "the state of Michigan is paying an average of $3.35 per gallon of regular gas and $3.85 per gallon of diesel."

On the heels of the GDP information, President Joe Biden stated that the reshaping of the economy came “with the fastest economic growth in nearly four decades, along with the greatest year of job growth in American history,” as reported by the New York Times. Yet inflation is absorbing much of the recovery Biden boasts about. As wage increases become more prevalent, workers are finding their larger paychecks aren’t benefiting them any more than their previous smaller ones.

According to the Gallup survey, 67% of respondents believe that the economy is continuing to slide compared to 29% who think it is improving, as reported by the New York Times.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York released upcoming consumer prospects with 26.3% of consumers under the impression that they would be in worse financial straits by the end of the year, compared to 9.9% of consumers going into 2020.

McLaughlin & Associates reported that their monthly survey found that voters' opinion of the Biden administration have changed since the 2020 election with 57% having an unfavorable opinion of Biden as a leader, opposed to 42% who viewed him favorably. In addition, 56% of respondents had an unfavorable opinion of Vice President Kamala Harris compared to 39% who held her in high regard. Attitudes of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) fall in line with 61% having an unfavorable opinion and 33% having a good opinion on her.

The presidential ticket of Biden and Harris carried Michigan during the 2020 election by about 150,000 votes, according to Politico.