Voters of all income classes blame President Joe Biden for inflation. | Hanson Lu/ Unsplash
Voters of all income classes blame President Joe Biden for inflation. | Hanson Lu/ Unsplash
According to a recent NBC News poll, Americans from lower, middle and upper classes place blame on President Joe Biden and his policies for the country's inflation and rising costs.
"Mr. President: You can't spend America out of an inflation crisis," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) tweeted March 30.
Overall, 38% of voters blame Biden, while 28% blame the COVID-19 pandemic, the poll found.
Of the 38% of Americans who blame Biden, 37% identify with the poor/working class, 39% identify with the middle class and 39% identify with the upper class. The poll was conducted March 18-22 in conjunction with Hart Research Associates and Public Opinion Strategies. It surveyed 1,000 adults, 790 of which were registered voters.
On March 10, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for the 12 months ending in February 2022. The data showed a 7.9% annual increase, a 40-year high.
CPI data showed that increases in the indexes for gasoline, shelter and food were the largest contributors to the seasonally adjusted "all items" increase. The gasoline index rose 6.6% in February and accounted for approximately one-third of the "all items" monthly increase. The index for fruits and vegetables had the largest increase, rising 2.3%, representing its largest monthly increase since March 2010.
Inflation has been rising for six months, well before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Pew Research reported.
On March 14, Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin and the COVID-19 pandemic are to blame for record-high inflation in the United States, Fox News reported.
He also maintained that rising prices have "nothing to do" with his administration’s policies.
"Make no mistake, inflation is largely the fault of Putin," Biden said.
According to the BLS, prices in the Midwest region, as measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), advanced 0.9% in February. Over the last 12 months, the CPI-U rose 8%. Food prices increased 9% and energy prices jumped 24.4%.
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