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By Marilyn Odendahl

The Indiana Citizen

March 8, 2024

For the third straight year, Americans remain concerned about their financial wellbeing, saying they want the president and Capitol Hill to focus on the national economy.

The Pew Research Center released a report on Thursday in advance of the State of the Union address by President Joe Biden. Drawing on its polling data from 2023 and early 2024, Pew found 73% of Americans say strengthening the economy should be the top priority of the Biden Administration and Congress this year. This compares to 60% who say reducing health-care costs should be a top policy priority in 2024, 57% who cite immigration as a top concern and 54% who believe reducing the budget deficit should be a high priority.

Worries about the economy are being fueled by high prices. The Pew polling found 72% of Americans say they are “very concerned” about the price of food and consumer goods, while another 64% are troubled by the cost of housing.

Americans on opposite sides of the political spectrum are closely aligned on the importance of bolstering the economy. According to Pew data, 63% of Democrats and 84% of Republicans say the health of the economy should be a top policy item in 2024.

The economy has stayed on top of Americans’ minds even as the coronavirus waned and the country has avoided a recession. Americans saying strengthening the economy should be a top priority reached 80% in 2021 and then fell to 71% in 2022, before rising slightly to 75% in 2023.

Not everyone sees the economy as faltering. Pew reported that 28% of Americans say the nation’s economy is doing excellent or good and point to the low unemployment rate, declining inflation and wage growth. Conversely, 72% of adults described the economy as fair to poor, citing high inflation, the high cost of living and a lack of good-paying jobs.

Immigration has been a growing concern of Americans during the Biden administration. Pew found 57% of Americans now say immigration should be a top policy goal, up from 39% at the start of Biden’s term.

Moreover, 89% of Republicans and 73% of Democrats are critical of the federal government’s response to the border crisis. To resolve the immigration situation, 60% of Americans say the administration and Congress should increase the number of judges to process asylum applications, 56% say create more pathways for legal immigration, and 52% say increase deportations of people in the country illegally.

Concerns about crime have also risen during Biden’s presidency. Pew found 68% of Republicans and 47% of Democrats say crime reduction should be a top priority in 2024, up 13 points and 8 points, respectively, since 2021.

Dwight Adams, a freelance editor and writer based in Indianapolis, edited this article. He is a former content editor, copy editor and digital producer at The Indianapolis Star and IndyStar.com, and worked as a planner for other newspapers, including the Louisville Courier Journal.