Americans Fear Biden’s Economy More Than COVID—Only 37% Worried About the Virus: AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research Poll

U.S. citizens no longer fear COVID, as majority 68% say economy is now biggest concern.

QUICK FACTS:

• An Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research poll shows only 37% of Americans consider Covid-19 one of their top five priorities in 2022, The Daily Mail reports, up from 53% at the same time last year.
• 68% of Americans name financial and economic worries as the main issue heading into the 2022 midterm elections, as consumer prices have jumped 6.8% for the 12 months ending in November, representing a nearly four-decade high, The Associated Press notes.
• Meanwhile, roughly twice as many Americans now mention their household finances—the cost of living being most mentioned—as a governmental priority, up to 24% from 12% last year.
• Respondents pointed to other issues like immigration among Republicans and gun control among Democrats, as pressing for the new year.
• The AP-NORC poll included 1,089 adults and was conducted Dec 2–7, 2021.

The poll showed 68% of Americans saying the economy is a top concern for the government in 2022. Another 24% mentioned the cost of living as a priority, as consumer prices recently reached a nearly four-decade high.https://t.co/pXB5SSSqNK

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 10, 2022

WHAT THE CONFIDENT ARE SAYING:

• “I’m hopeful with omicron,” said Samantha Flowers, a 33-year-old community college teacher in Columbia, Missouri. “Even though more people are getting it, the sickness hasn’t been as harsh for most people. Since we’re all going to end up sick anyway, let it be one that we can recover from better.”

BACKGROUND:

• Concerns over cost of living have doubled in the last year from 12% to 24%, notes Daily Mail.
• The poll used a sample “designed to be representative of the U.S. population,” having a margin of error at plus or minus 4.1 percentage points.
• Forbes Media Chairman Steve Forbes said on Friday that President Biden’s optimistic remarks on the new jobs report amounted to a “fairytale” about economic recovery, noting that Biden “ignores the fact that before the COVID crisis hit, American unemployment was lower,” reports FOX News.
• “Lower-income people’s wages were rising at a faster pace than the rest of the workforce,” added Forbes, “and things were going in the right direction.”
• Forbes claimed Biden “hobbled the recovery from COVID as the lockdowns ended,” signaling that Biden’s “war on oil and gas” has caused “rising energy costs” that “[hit] everyone.”