The demographics most worried about inflation
Inflation is up, and it's causing nonwhite voters more stress than their white counterparts, a new Wall Street Journal poll finds.
Specifically, 35 percent of Black, Hispanic, Asian-American, and other voters who identify as something other than white said the current levels of inflation are triggering "major financial strain in their lives," the Journal found. That's compared to 28 percent of white voters.
Meanwhile, Black women and Hispanic men, "both at 44 percent, reported the highest proportions of major strain among various demographic and gender combinations," the Journal writes.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Unsurprisingly, people who make the least money were also most likely to cite financial challenges as a result of inflation; nearly half of those with incomes less than $60,000 "reported major financial strain, while just 13 percent of those making $150,000 or more did so."
Overall, however, 58 percent of poll participants said inflation "was causing them major or minor financial strain," up from 56 percent in November, the Journal writes.
Dissatisfaction with the economy, despite plentiful jobs, could harm Democrats in the upcoming midterms if conditions don't approve before then.
"Lower-income people clearly have bigger pain points," Democratic pollster John Anzalone told the Journal. "It shouldn't be surprising, quite frankly, that you would see some softening [support for Democrats], even among African-Americans and Latinos and other people of color."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
When asked to rank the top four challenges ahead of President Biden and Congress, "rising prices and the economy were more often picked by nonwhite voters than white voters as the most important issue, 60 percent to 47 percent," per the Journal. Republicans and independent voters were also more concerned about inflation than Democrats.
The Journal poll was conducted by Impact Research and Fabrizio, Lee & Associates, who surveyed 1,500 registered voters from March 2-7. Results have a margin of error of 2.5 percentage points.
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
Democrats seek 2026 inspiration from special election routsIN THE SPOTLIGHT High-profile wins are helping a party demoralized by Trump’s reelection regain momentum
-
Film reviews: ‘Bugonia,’ ‘The Mastermind,’ and ‘Nouvelle Vague’feature A kidnapped CEO might only appear to be human, an amateurish art heist goes sideways, and Jean-Luc Godard’s ‘Breathless’ gets a lively homage
-
‘Not all news is bad’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why has America’s economy gone K-shaped?Today's Big Question The rich are doing well. Everybody else is scrimping.
-
From candy to costumes, inflation is spooking consumers on Halloween this yearIn the Spotlight Both candy and costumes have jumped significantly in price
-
Warner Bros. explores sale amid Paramount bidsSpeed Read The media giant, home to HBO and DC Studios, has received interest from multiple buying parties
-
Gold tops $4K per ounce, signaling financial uneaseSpeed Read Investors are worried about President Donald Trump’s trade war
-
Why are beef prices rising? And how is politics involved?Today's Big Question Drought, tariffs and consumer demand all play a role
-
Electronic Arts to go private in record $55B dealspeed read The video game giant is behind ‘The Sims’ and ‘Madden NFL’
-
Fed cuts interest rates a quarter pointSpeed Read ‘The cut suggests a broader shift toward concern about cracks forming in the job market’
-
New York court tosses Trump's $500M fraud fineSpeed Read A divided appeals court threw out a hefty penalty against President Trump for fraudulently inflating his wealth
