Poll Shows What Americans' Most Important Problem Is Right Now
By Jason Hall
October 13, 2022
Inflation remains the top issue among Americans as the annual rate continues to increase to multidecade highs.
An estimated 38% of responding Americans cited the economic issue as the most important problem in the U.S. as part of a poll conducted by Gallup.com.
Economic problems also had the highest percentage in August (37%), July (35%), June (40%), May (37%) and April (39%).
The latest poll coincides with the U.S. inflation rate hitting an 8.2% increase from September 2021 to September 2022, following an 8.3% reading for price increases from August 2021 to August 2022, according to statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Thursday (October 13) morning via NBC News.
Higher prices for food, shelter and medical care continue to cause the increased inflation totals, according to the data.
President Joe Biden's administration has taken measures to address the issue, including the Inflation Reduction Act, however, provisions in the law will take place during a 10-year period and at least two separate models predict it may not bring statistical significance toward impacting inflation.
The Federal Reserve has already increased its benchmark rate five times in 2022 -- including three consecutive hikes of 0.75% -- in an effort to make borrowing and spending money more expensive to deter consumer demand.