The League of American Workers recently conducted a poll among battleground state voters which uncovered an overwhelming lack of confidence in President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy. Most respondents expressed dissatisfaction with the direction of the country, particularly in key swing states like Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. The majority cited economic issues as their top concern. Upon being asked to elaborate on these concerns, 39% mentioned wage and income erosion while 29% pointed out rising housing costs as the main factors driving their economic worries.
In a Real Clear Politics column, Steve Cortes, chairman and founder of the League of American Workers highlighted this “pervasive pessimism”. Cortes pointed out that 77% of those surveyed believe that the country is on a downward trajectory. He linked this lack of confidence to voters’ disapproval of President Biden’s management of the economy. Among those who approved (a mere 39% of respondents), only 9% showed “strong approval”, whereas among the 57% that disapproved, nearly half registered “strong disapproval”.
The survey also revealed that most voters considered economic issues and inflation as paramount concerns. When further probed about their top two most significant impacts from inflation, 39 percent listed income erosion while another 29 percent highlighted housing prices. The poll was conducted by North Star Research across four states involving a total of 800 registered voters.
“While the President may be selling ‘Bidenomics’, these results indicate that Battleground state voters aren’t buying,” commented Jon McHenry from North Star who was responsible for conducting the survey.
Notably, rising housing costs have become an issue nationwide. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data showed a 7.2 percent increase in the national shelter index between Sep. 2022 and 2023, with the rent index escalating by 7.4 percent in the same period.
BLS also reported a 6.8 percent increase in housing costs in the Phoenix metro area from Aug. 2022 to Aug. 2023, with shelter and rent costs spiking by 7.5 percent and 9.5 percent respectively during that time.
Furthermore, data from NerdWallet shows that as of Oct. 31, the average APR on a 30-year fixed-mortgage rate in Arizona stands at 8.101 percent – above the national average of 7.778 percent – reflecting an increase from the previous year.
According to Zillow Home Values Index, as of Sep. 30, a typical home value in Arizona is $423,436 – significantly higher than the national figure of $348,539 and representing a sharp rise (65%) compared to Oct. 2018 figures.
A recent analysis by QuoteWizard from Lending Tree found that renting a one-bedroom apartment in Arizona now averages at $1,172 – an alarming hike of 30% since last year’s prices were reported.
Meanwhile, American incomes have also suffered according to BLS findings which show real average weekly earnings for all employees fell slightly between Aug and Sep. this year; dropping by just over one-tenth of a percentage point over the course of an entire year (Sep. ’22 – Sep.’23).
The U.S Census Bureau reports that real pre-tax median household income across America was $74,530 in ’22 – marking a decrease of around two-thirds from last year’s figure ($76,330). After tax income saw an even more drastic fall – around nine percentage points; largely due to expiring American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) tax policies having most impact on lowest-income households’ post-tax income levels.
For Arizona specifically; according to Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’ FRED database, the median pre-tax household income in ’22 was $73,450 – a bit lower than the national average.
According to Common Sense Institute Arizona’s inflation report from Sep. 2023, real wages in Arizona have fallen dramatically by nearly a tenth (9.4%) since their peak in April 2020. The analysis also found that due to inflation, typical goods and services now cost Arizonian families over $2,700 more than they did just over a year ago.
