by Harry Wilmerding
Almost half of Americans said soaring prices created some form of financial hardship for their households, while 10% reported that they are experiencing “severe hardship,” according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.
As Americans enter a busy holiday season, 45% of consumers reported hardship at the hands of the recent surge in inflation, according to a Gallup poll. Roughly 35% of respondents reported “moderate” financial hardship in their homes and just 54% reported “no hardship” at all.
Lower-income households suffered the most, according to the pole, with over 70% of respondents earning less than $40,000 a year saying price hikes have negatively impacted their families.
Additionally, nearly 30% of low-income households reported that financial hardship has affected their ability to maintain their standard of living, Gallup said.
“Inflation is a tax on everyone. Every day Americans are seeing the impact of rising prices each time they go to the grocery store, fill up at the gas station, or pay their heating bill,” Republican Wisconsin Rep. Bryan Steil told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
“Inflation is not transitory. We must be forced on addressing rising costs and stopping new proposals to spend trillions of dollars,” Steil said.
The poll was conducted from Nov. 3-16 among 1,598 adults and had a margin of error of three points.
“As Americans sail into peak holiday shopping season and winter temperatures bring bigger heating bills to much of the country, nearly half of U.S. adults already report that price increases are causing them financial hardship,” the Gallup poll report said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. economy added 210,000 jobs in November, marking nearly the fewest in a single month since President Joe Biden took office. Friday’s figure is well below economists’ estimate of over 500,000.
Additionally, unemployment fell to 4.2% from October’s 4.6% figure, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Meanwhile, inflation has surged throughout the country, with prices reaching a 30-year high in October. November’s inflation data is scheduled for release on Dec. 10, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
“Out of touch elites in the Democrat Party, Hollywood, and Big Media like to say inflation only impacts the rich, completely ignoring the reality that America’s small businesses, seniors on fixed incomes, and lower and middle-class Americans are the ones struggling the most,” Republican Florida Rep. Byron Donalds told the DCNF.
“Democrats in Washington think they can spend their way out of inflation, but they are wrong, and this way of thinking is the reason why prices are skyrocketing. We need to stop the spending, get people back to work, and allow the economy to operate independently of any more socialist policies hindering our recovery,” Donalds added.
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Harry Wilmerding is a reporter at Daily Caller News Foundation.
