According to an Axios survey by The Harris Poll, most Americans believe it is harder to afford groceries compared to a year ago. The findings, released Thursday, show that 47% of the general public feel pain in their wallets, while 34% said that prices are about the same. Meanwhile, 19% of respondents think groceries are now easier to afford.
Among independents, 54% say groceries are more costly, compared to 50% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans. Republicans remained more split in their responses — with 28% arguing that they are easier to afford, while 37% say they are similar to last year.
The survey also found that 8 in 10 Americans believe the president has “significant influence” over the U.S. economy, and only 47% believe the current administration has had a positive impact on it, signaling a pressure point for Trump and the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms. Less than 1 in 3 respondents maintain that tariffs have been beneficial for the economy, business or personal finances, while most Americans — standing at 63% — worry of shortages of key goods due to Trump’s signature policy.
So they polled people on subjective opinions instead of looking at the data? Wtf kind of reporting is this?
It’s useful in the sense that people vote on what they feel the facts are, not the actual facts. Crime statistics might be trending down, but if there’s a ton of crime stories in the news people feel like crime is up. There’s similar dynamics at play when it comes to inflation and other economic indicators.
Oh yes!
Also fun when everyone we know is lamenting their inability to land an interview and getting ghosted, while the news reports record profits and low unemployment numbers and hiring sprees.
And then when companies want to keep their staff from getting too uppity, we start hearing how everything is precarious and layoffs are high and unemployment is rising.