Inflation is by far the top topic on the minds of Americans as we approach election day for the midterms.
An Economist/YouGov poll of 1500 American adults from the beginning of November found that 68 percent say they'll be considering the issue of inflation “a lot” when casting the ballot during this year's election. This is more important than all other issues, from firearms, border security, and abortion. When asked which is the most important issue facing our nation at the moment, 27 percent respond that inflation and 10 percent say healthcare.
It is no secret that the Biden administration has been unable to come up with a convincing plan to fight inflation. The most famous was the Inflation Reduction Act, which experts agreed did little to lower the rate of inflation. According to the poll conducted by the Economist and YouGov, only 32% of Americans are happy with Biden's approach to inflation. 54% say they don't approve of Biden on inflation, and 40% saying they strongly disagree with Biden's policies.
The Biden administration is a left-wing party that doesn't think the issue of inflation is a serious matter. A mere 15% of Biden’s people say that inflation is the most important issue. For self-described liberals, only 9 percent of them say that inflation is the most important issue. For Democrats, it is the most important concern for only 18 percent. Compare that to 27 percent among independent voters and 26 percent with moderates.
In the same way, the left believes Biden is doing a fantastic job with regard to inflation. Approval of jobs on the subject by Biden voters is a high of 65 percent. In the case of liberals and Democrats, there is a 63 percent approval rate. In the case of independents, Biden's approval of his job for inflation is just 21 percent. For self-described moderates, the figure is 40 percent.
The issue of race and inflation can be a source of concern for Democrats. 71% of African-American Americans say they'll be thinking about inflation when they cast their votes in the next election, with 16 percent strongly favorable to Biden's handling of the issue, and 31 percent somewhat favorable. Three-quarters of black Americans dislike Biden's handling of inflation. For Hispanics, 64 percent of respondents say they'll be thinking about inflation often and 46 percent say they don't agree with Biden regarding the subject. Three quarters of respondents disapprove. Just 38 percent agree. For whites, the majority of respondents think they'll be considering inflation frequently while 61 percent do not approve of Biden regarding inflation, and just 29 percent agree with his policies.
We'll likely be able to determine who controls the House as well as the Senate at the time that we hear the Labor Department releases its Consumer Price Index (CPI) to measure inflation. Last month, the CPI indicated that consumer prices increased by 8.3 percent over the previous year. Core inflation that does not include energy and good prices increased by 6.6 percent, the biggest annual rise since 1982. The forecast by economists is for the year-over-year average number to drop to 8 percent, but stay in the range of 6.6 percent for the core rate of inflation. The consensus has been consistently underestimating inflation, therefore an upside chance of a surprise is possible.
Americans aren't able to simply vote to slash inflation. However, a majority of Republicans in both the House and Senate can offer some relief. In the case of supply, there is a possibility that a GOP Senate majority may block climate-friendly appointments, which play an important role in preventing the domestic production of fossil fuels. For the consumer side, GOP majorities will be capable of preventing the kind of spending that led us into this situation.
