Americans differ on what’s to blame

Americans are nearly unanimous in their worry about inflation. There is much less agreement about what is to blame for the problem.

More than nine in 10 adults say they are at least “somewhat concerned” about inflation, and more than 6 in 10 say they are “very concerned,” according to a survey conducted last month for The New York Times by the online research firm Momentive.

The findings echo those in other recent surveys, including one from Gallup last month in which a record share of Americans listed inflation as their top financial problem.

The fastest inflation in decades is taking a toll on Americans’ economic outlook. Fortyone percent of respondents in the Momentive survey said they were worse off financially than a year ago, the highest share in the more than five years that the company has been asking the question.

Republican elected officials and candidates have sought to blame President Joe Biden and congressional Democrats for the problem, while Democrats have pointed the finger at forces largely outside their control. The Momentive survey suggests that neither party’s message has convinced voters.

Republicans, for example, have argued that the American Rescue Plan, the $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package that Democrats passed early last year, led the economy to overheat, contributing to inflation. But 67% of respondents in the survey — including 42% of Republicans — said they approved of the law, the same level of support as when it passed last year. Only 30% said the law deserved “a lot” of blame for inflation.

On the other hand, only 30% of respondents said the war in Ukraine deserved a lot of blame for inflation. White House officials in recent weeks have repeatedly referred to “Putin’s price hike,” a reference to the role that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has played in driving up oil and gas prices.

“That messaging really hasn’t broken through,” said Laura Wronski, director of research for Momentive.

Respondents, who could choose more than one answer, were more likely to say they blamed supply-chain problems (43%) or the pandemic in general (45%) for inflation. About 40% also said they blamed corporations, an argument that has been popular among progressives but that the White House has been reluctant to embrace fully.

“Everyone can kind of look at the same set of issues that are going on and see it through their own specific lens,” Wronski said.