POLL: More Americans Are Worse Off Financially Than Any Other Time In The Last 40 Years

Americans are showing the highest level of economic pessimism since the housing crisis.

With record numbers reporting that they are worse off financially, this dissatisfaction has the potential to result in significant political unrest around Biden.

The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that a record 40% of Americans believe their financial situation has worsened since Biden took office.

It’s the highest percentage in 37 years of ABC News/Washington Post polls. Only 16% of respondents reported being better off, compared to 25% under former President Trump at the same point in his term. 13% reported being worse off during that time.

The economy is taking a toll on Biden’s approval, with 41% of Americans reporting that they are worse off financially since Biden took office, which is the highest number recorded in nearly 36 years of ABC/Washington Post polls.

In contrast, only 16% of those surveyed in the ABC/Washington Post poll, conducted by Langer Research Associates, reported being better off under Biden’s administration.

The poll also revealed that 60% of self-identified Democratic adults do not wish for Biden to secure the nomination for the presidential race. On the other hand, approximately half of Republicans also expressed disinterest in a potential nomination of former President Trump.

Despite these unfavorable prospects for both candidates, if the election were to take place today, the poll suggests that Trump would receive 48% of the vote, while Biden would secure 44%. Among registered voters, the numbers are slightly different with Trump receiving 48% and Biden receiving 45%.

Throughout 2022, President Biden’s approval rating saw a steady decline due to record high inflation. This was reflected in various polls leading up to the midterms, which showed that voters had more trust in Republicans to effectively manage the economy and inflation. In August, an ABC News/Ipsos poll recorded the highest level of economic pessimism since 2008.

ABC POLL: "40% say they are worse off financially than they were two years ago — the most negative response to that question in nearly 40 years." pic.twitter.com/yEACnb53SK

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) February 5, 2023

Biden’s term continues to be filled with mishaps. Most recently the incident with the Chinese spy balloon.

Biden allowed a Chinese spy balloon to travel across U.S. territory, and government officials were calling him out.

Former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army and retired four-star General Jack Keane slammed Biden for not taking action against a Chinese spy balloon that had flown over the U.S. this week and was finally shot down today.

“Remember, this was approaching the United States over water,” Keane said. “It was approaching the Aleutian Islands over water. And we had plenty of opportunity to take it down then. And that’s when it should have happened. We had to be tracking it from mainland China across the Pacific Ocean, and we had plenty of warning to put together an operation that we are conducting now on the east coast that should have been done there.”