Most Republicans and Democrats are concerned about the cost of living in America. Will we finally see real solutions to our economic woes?

From The Christian Post. For the first time in the last decade, most Democrats and Republicans agree that the cost of living is one of the most important issues facing American families today, according to the results of the recently released American Family Survey.

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The annual nationwide study of 3,000 Americans started in 2015 by the Deseret News and the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy at Brigham Young University highlighted a significant shift in the concerns of families in 2024.

Family structure concerns are driven mainly by Americans worried about “parents not teaching or disciplining their children sufficiently” and have outpaced economic or cultural concerns over the last decade until last year.

“More American families now worry about economic issues,” the researchers wrote. “In 2015, just over half of survey respondents chose an item in that category. But economic stresses steadily increased in the ensuing decade.”

In 2024, over 71% chose at least one economic concern, compared to the over 70% who selected a structural concern. The “costs of raising a family,” “high work demands” and “stress on parents” were of special concern to parents, the report notes.

“In 2024, for the first time ever, majorities of both parties said economic concerns are one of the most important issues facing families,” it reads.

The findings align with exit poll results from the 2024 presidential election, which found that most voters were not happy with the economy.

Some two-thirds of voters described the economy as bad, and those who felt that way voted overwhelmingly for President Donald Trump.

Recent data collected by Pew Research Center’s Spring 2024 Global Attitudes Survey found that American adults and adults from 35 other countries hold a bleak view of what the future holds for their children economically. More than half are expecting that kids today will be worse off than their parents amid growing income inequality.

“Evidently, many Americans have concluded that the dynamics of the current economy are not especially family friendly. When COVID was dominating the news and people were concerned about jobs and putting food on their tables, it was possible to see this trend as a reaction to that crisis. But we are now so far from that event that it is clearly not the main reason economics dominates the thinking of more and more Americans,” American Family Survey researchers said.

The data suggests that Democrats consistently expressed more concern about the economic challenges facing families than Republicans. While researchers highlight a 25 percentage-point gap between the concern over economic challenges facing families between Republicans and Democrats in 2015, concern about this area has increased over time for both parties.

Regarding the economic worries of respondents in the survey, respondents highlighted several things they are “very worried” about. More than half, 55% of the public said they are very worried about inflation; 43% pointed to rising tax bills; 35% flagged interests; 33% listed the national debt, while 25% pointed to unemployment and the lack of government assistance, respectively.

“If you combine the ‘very worried’ and ‘somewhat worried’ categories, 88% of the public is worried. This is as close to universal as things get in survey research. The other issues just do not see the same level of concern,” researchers noted.

“This is, in most respects, a reflection of the actual economy. Though the rate of inflation has decreased substantially, prices are still high. Other concerns like interest rates and unemployment are less likely to be areas of concern, and public attitudes reflect that.”

Regardless of factors such as race, church attendance, gender, or family status, inflation was found to be a “universal concern” with just two exceptions.

Families with incomes over $100,000 were found to be least worried, and Republicans were found to be more likely than Democrats to worry about inflation. Some 68% of Republicans said they are very worried about inflation compared to just 41% of Democrats.

“It is not that inflation is somehow targeting Republicans; they are just more motivated to give this response. And it is clear that the GOP was responding to this in the election by harping on inflation at a record pace,” researchers said.

“The Wesleyan Media Project reported that inflation was among the most talked about issues: ‘[Trump] has mentioned the economy, inflation, and gas prices in nearly all of his 40,000 ad airings (as of early September).’ That was a far higher rate than he discussed immigration, as a point of comparison.”

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This article was originally published at The Christian Post. Used with permission. Photo Credit: Emil Kalibradov on Unsplash.