Grand Canyon Times

New information shows that the share of American households who report having problems paying their bills has gone past the peak from the 2020 pandemic era amid growing inflation. 

In some of Arizona's major cities, there was more than a 10% year-over-year jump in the share of respondents who claim to have difficulty paying bills. Meanwhile, President Joe Biden's approval rating continues to decline this month.

"February, CNN reports: 'Biden to announce plan to lower costs for American families...' July, Bloomberg reports: “The share of Americans who report having difficulties paying their bills has surpassed its 2020 pandemic peak” Joe Biden is failing," Sen. Ted Cruz said on Twitter.

According to results from a U.S. Census Bureau survey carried out from the end of June through early July, four in 10 adults (40%) said it has been somewhat or very difficult to cover usual household expenses as failing wages fall short of keeping up with surging prices. Yahoo Finance said the share of 40% is the biggest percentage since the Census began asking the question in August 2020. It also implies that more than 90 million families are struggling financially, up from about 60 million a year ago.

According to Yahoo, when the Census first issued the question in 2020, one-third of respondents reported having issues managing typical household bills. The share reportedly went down over the following year but started increasing again about a year ago, once government pandemic relief ended and inflation took hold across the country. Survey results demonstrate a sharp surge in financial stress in all of the country’s big metropolitan areas. In Arizona's major cities - Phoenix, Mesa and Chandler - the share of respondents having difficulty paying bills jumped to about 41%, from 28% a year prior.

Reuters recently reported Biden's approval rating declined once again. His lack of popularity is thought to be due to a surge in inflation, which at 9.1%, rose to a new 40-year high in June. According to the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll, the president's public approval rating went down to 36% last week to tie the lowest rating during his 19 months in the White House. Among Democrats, approval fell to 69% from 74% a week earlier.

Surging energy prices are a significant financial problem for numerous households. The latest Census survey shows that nationally, more than one-third of households either reduced or forwent purchasing basic household necessities, including medicine and food, to pay an energy bill.