(NewsNation) — Inflation is top of mind for nearly all Americans, according to a NewsNation/Decision Desk HQ poll that showed 93% of registered voters are at least “somewhat concerned” with inflation.
Nearly two out of three voters polled were “very concerned with inflation” and 65% of those polled believe inflation to be a larger problem in the United States than crime, COVID-19 or unemployment.
Inflation has been a hot button issue for months, as this year has produced record-high levels of rising prices, which saw consumers getting dinged especially hard at the gas station and grocery store.
Now, just weeks before November’s pivotal midterm elections that will decide control of the House and Senate, 45% of voters said inflation was the No. 1 issue that will determine how they vote, beating out other issues such as abortion, immigration, climate change and foreign policy by wide margins.
NewsNation business contributor Lydia Moynihan said it’s been hard to predict whether inflation will come down or not, but the Federal Reserve raising interest rates is a sign it could come down soon.
“Even Jerome Powell, the Federal Reserve chair, has said he hasn’t really seen inflation come down yet, but it’s really only a matter of time,” Moynihan said. “So, even if we haven’t peaked yet, Jerome Powell has been cranking up those interest rates, and so the expectation is that certainly by the end of the year, we will … see inflation to begin to ease down.”
High inflation is also expected to impact the holiday shopping season, with 46% of voters saying they would be spending less this year on the holidays because of inflation. Likewise, retailers such as Walmart and Target plan to hire fewer seasonal workers this year in anticipation of lower demand for goods.
That’s not a certainty, though.
“Speaking with economists and analysts about these numbers, they expect that sometimes people say they aren’t going to be spending much and then they actually go to the store and they’re much more willing to put something on a credit card,” Moynihan said.