Washington, D.C. — Today, Navigator Research released new polling showing that while Americans remain deeply concerned about inflation and the rising costs of everyday goods, support for Biden’s economic agenda is at an all-time high. These numbers come ahead of this morning’s anticipated release of the March consumer price index report, which is expected to show that inflation remains high.
“Week over week, our polling shows that rising costs remain a critical issue for many Americans as they continue to struggle with soaring costs and tightened budgets,” said Bryan Bennett, Senior Director of Polling and Analytics at The Hub Project and Advisor to Navigator Research. “While concerns around the economy persist, we’re also seeing record high support for Biden’s economic proposals. When the public understands the administration’s plans to lower drug prices, expand Medicare and invest in clean energy, support grows significantly across partisanship. Progressives can and should message their economic proposals more explicitly and urgently to the American people.”
According to this most recent survey, support for President Biden’s economic plan is at the highest level of support in our tracking dating back to last summer. By a 45-point margin, Americans support an economic plan that “will expand Medicare for seniors to include hearing coverage, lower health care costs by allowing Medicare to negotiate lower drug prices, and invest in clean energy like wind and solar power.” Support is strong across partisanship, including among nine in ten Democrats (90 percent), a majority of Independents (53 percent), and even a plurality of Republicans (46 percent).
However, a significant warning sign for President Biden and Democrats in Congress is how little attention this popular economic agenda is getting and how little awareness there is about positive economic news. Just 46 percent of Americans report hearing some about new economic legislation being proposed by Biden and negotiated by Democrats in Congress, including only 15 percent who say they have heard “a lot.” Similarly, only 16 percent of Americans reported hearing “a lot” about the unemployment rate falling to 3.6 percent as the U.S. added 431,000 jobs—compared to 30 percent who have heard a lot about ongoing peace negotiations between Russia and Ukraine, or 67 percent who have heard a lot about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock at the Oscars.
Additionally, Americans don’t think either party is paying enough attention to the economy — and this perception is more acute for the Democratic Party. A majority of Americans say that the Democratic Party is giving too little attention to economic issues (58 percent), while only a third feel the party gives the issue the right amount of attention (33 percent). A plurality similarly say that the Republican Party gives too little attention to economic issues (44 percent), while two in five say they are giving the right amount of attention (41 percent).
Americans also feel negatively about the economy more generally, with seven in ten continuing to rate the economy negatively (71 percent). Inflation also continues to be a major concern across party lines, racial demographics, and income levels, with a majority of Americans reporting being very concerned about the rate of inflation in the coming months (56 percent), and nine in ten reporting being at least somewhat concerned (91 percent). Over nine in ten (93 percent) say that the costs of everyday goods like groceries are going up.
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