Peach Tree Times

President Joe Biden is telling everyone America is experiencing ''the fastest economic growth in nearly four decades," but rising inflation has hurt his approval ratings among potential voters in the upcoming midterm elections.

While the economy last year grew at its quickest rate since 1984 last year, voters don't foresee the economy improving anytime soon, The New York Times reported. Issues created during the pandemic have led to higher prices, particularly in gas and energy. Supply and delivery issues have not been totally solved, creating increased prices or a lack of inventory. Wages are on the rise, but inflation soaks up any gains. Controversy over the vaccine and the arrival of variants to COVID-19 have also added to inflation growth not seen since 1982.

"There was a lot of optimism a year ago," Karen Dynan, a Harvard economist and former Department of the Treasury official during Barack Obama's administration, told The New York Times. "We'd gotten the vaccines faster than we'd thought, and we thought our lives were going to be able to go back to normal, and people just expected the economy to come along with that. And maybe that was a little naive."

New gross domestic product (GDP) figures show that the economy has more than fully recovered from its pandemic hit, but a big chunk of that progress evaporates when you factor in recent price increases, especially at the gas pump. There has been an observed 5% increase in average gas prices over the last month nationally, AAA reported in their gas prices table. The current national average is $3.52 per gallon of regular gas, while a month ago the average was $3.31 per gallon. Georgia is paying an average of $3.38 per gallon of regular gas and $3.89 per gallon of diesel.

"We are finally building an American economy for the 21st century, with the fastest economic growth in nearly four decades, along with the greatest year of job growth in American history," Biden said in a statement on Jan. 27 after the release of GDP data.

Potential voters are apparently not buying it. The New York Times reported that a recent Gallup survey shows low economic confidence among Americans. The poll reported that 67% of Americans said the economy is getting worse. Only 29% believe it is getting better.

Data shows that 26.3% of consumers foresee being in a worse financial state in a year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York reported in December 2021. Only 9.9% felt this way at the end of 2019, prior to the coronavirus.

A monthly survey of 1,000 potential voters by McLaughlin & Associates continues to reflect declining faith in the economy and the administration. The latest survey, conducted Jan. 13-18, reported that 57% of Americans find Biden unfavorable, while 42% say he is favorable. Meanwhile, 56% of people believe Vice President Kamala Harris is unfavorable, and 39% say she is favorable. Opinions of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi show a similar split, with 61% saying she is unfavorable and 33% saying she is favorable.

The majority of Georgia voters supported the Biden-Harris ticket in the presidential election, but their sliding approval ratings could ultimately hurt Democrats in the midterms.