Peach Tree Times

Amid rampant inflation, falling wages, two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, and high mortgage rates in Georgia and abroad, Americans appear to be feeling the brunt of the country's poor economic conditions. 

According to a recent poll, a large majority indicated they believe we're currently in a recession.

"Sixty-four percent (64%) of voters say the U.S. is currently in a recession. A Scott Rasmussen national survey found that just 17% say it is not, and 19% are not sure," Scott Rasmussen reports.

In a September Senate Opportunity Fund survey, 58% of respondents indicated they agreed with the statement, “Democrats’ runaway spending, punishing regulations, and attack on American energy is hurting the economy and forcing the country into a recession.” This included 52% of moderate respondents, 80% of conservative respondents and 28% of liberal respondents. 

The poll took place Sept. 12-15 and surveyed 1,600 general election likely voters nationwide with a goal to “advance and support conservative policies and solutions through research, issue advocacy and communications.”

Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day survey results also found that 73% of Americans say that over the past year, their income has been falling behind inflation. The survey's sample size was 1,200 registered voters and it was conducted online by pollster Scott Rasmussen on Sept. 15-17. The margin of error for the full sample is +/- 2.8 percentage points.

When Americans were asked the same question, 'Is the United States currently in a recession?' in Rasmussen's survey from a month ago, 57% of voters responded 'Yes.'

On Sept. 13, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the 12 months ending August 2022. The data showed an 8.3% all items annual increase, which represents a 0.1% rise from the month prior, on a seasonally adjusted basis. 

According to the BLS, real average hourly earnings for all employees declined 2.8%, seasonally adjusted, from August 2021 to August 2022. The change in real average hourly earnings combined with a decrease of 0.6% in the average workweek resulted in a 3.4% decrease in real average weekly earnings in the last year. 

After declining at an annual rate of 1.6% in the first quarter of 2022, gross domestic product (GDP) dropped another 0.6% in the second quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis' (BEA) third estimate for quarter two, released Sept. 29. In simple terms, the U.S. economy is shrinking. As Business Insider points out, GDP's two consecutive quarter decline signals "the US is already in a technical recession, and supply bottlenecks from the pandemic are lingering in key markets."

According to mortgage-finance giant Freddie Mac, the uncertainty and volatility in financial markets is heavily impacting mortgage rates, so much so that in the last 5 weeks, rates have jumped 1.57%. As of Sept. 29, the average rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 6.7%, Freddie Mac reports, which is 3.69% higher than the rate at this time last year. 

Bankrate.com reports that as of Sept. 29, the going rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage in Georgia is 6.80%.