Although the rate of inflation has greatly decreased in the last year from its daunting high of 9.1% in the summer of 2022 to a current 2.9%, the subject remains the number one topic of concern for would-be voters in November.
That, according to a survey completed by the website Motley Fool Ascent, means that 60% of respondents still regard inflation as the top issue influencing how they may vote in the presidential election.
That 60% far outweighs the 5% who pointed to the cost of childcare as their primary issue, the 10% who pointed to the stock market, and the 22% who regarded the cost of education as issue number one.
On the equally worrying issue of Social Security, an issue always clothed in fears that at some point the system will prove insolvent, members of both parties expressed concerns. But the issue, perhaps not surprisingly, played out differently depending upon the age of the respondent.
Baby Boomers, or those born between 1946 and 1964, indicated a somewhat low 28% confidence level regarding Social Security’s future. Only 21% of Generation Z respondents born between 1997 and 2012, meanwhile, expressed similar sentiments.
The Social Security confidence level declined to its lowest among Generation X members born between 1965 and 1980. This generation, now nearing their retirement years, expressed the lowest confidence level, at 18%, in Social Security’s solvent future.
At the same time, members of all age groups, from the Baby Boomers to Generation Z expressed overwhelming agreement on one Social Security issue: on average, roughly 80% of each group said they would like to the system to increase its benefit offerings.
Support for raising the federal minimum wage also showed wide cross-generational support, ranging from 58% among the Baby Boomers to 78% for both Generation Z and the Millennials, born between 1981 and 1996.
According to a narrative accompanying the survey, the prioritization of financial issues varied depending upon one’s party registration, but not by much: “Inflation is a higher priority for those who believe a Republican president will do a better job handling their financial priorities, while Social Security is a higher priority among those more confident in a Democrat president.”
Bottom line: “The Democrats’ messaging on Social Security resonates more than Republicans’, while the GOP’s talking points on inflation are more impactful.”
By Garry Boulard
Image Credit: Courtesy of Unsplash
