Alongside border security, the economy and inflation are quickly becoming some of the most important issues to American voters in 2024. Many people are worried about the rising costs of daily life — from food prices to insurance rates, utility bills, and home prices. There's a strong sentiment of frustration, with people feeling "crushed" by the skyrocketing costs.

Many people are saying they’re forced to cut back on non-essential spending to afford basic necessities. Voters are growing more worried about rampant inflation making everyday expenses difficult to manage. They also voice concerns about the potential for war and its economic consequences.

Across the country, there is a sense of apprehension about the future. People are becoming worried about a looming recession or economic crash. They express anxiety about the potential impact on Americans’ retirement savings and long-term financial plans.

Housing is a Particular Sore Spot

The rising cost of housing and rent is a significant concern for voters across the political spectrum. Some on the left believe rent control is a solution, while people on the right more frequently advocate for the development of more housing.

There are many reasons Americans feel frustrated with their housing costs. They cite reasons like cost of rent, home purchase prices, property taxes, insurance costs, preferential treatment for illegal aliens, and low supply.

Property Taxes and Insurance

A common complaint is that fewer and fewer Americans can afford to buy a home. But for those who do own, rising costs of property taxes and insurance are unavoidable. Voters talk about how property taxes, which are often based on the assessed value of a property, are making homeownership prohibitively expensive.

There are discussions about the methods used to determine property values for tax and sale purposes. A lot of people feel these valuation methods are flawed, leading to inflated tax values and unfair taxation. Many also complain about the high percentage of property taxes, depending on the state they live in.

The frustration over property taxes seems especially vocalized in states like New Jersey and New York. There is blame and dissatisfaction with politicians for how they've handled various tax increases. Many Americans say these actions can easily influence their voting decisions.

Drastically rising homeowner’s and renter’s insurance costs are also a contentious point of frustration for Americans. This is usually mentioned along with high rents, rising utility costs, and insufficient income growth.

As an example, people in Florida discuss skyrocketing insurance rates, which are driving away buyers and causing home prices to fall for sellers. New buyers cannot enter the market with skyrocketing insurance costs or the inability to obtain coverage like flood insurance.

Rent and Market Prices

The impact of high housing costs on quality of life and financial stability is a recurring theme in online discussions. People discuss the challenges of saving and investing when housing costs are high — and many say they fear they’ll never be able to afford a home.

A dominant topic is concern about home prices continuing to rise, even as interest rates rise — especially in markets like San Diego, Florida, and Idaho. Americans talk about how high prices, interest rates, and utilities often cause housing to cost more than 50% of their income.

There’s a growing discussion about the fact that wage growth has not kept pace with housing costs. This is a widespread negative point of view for most Americans, regardless of political affiliation.

Future predictions about the housing market and home prices are a popular topic. Both experts and laypeople speculate about how the housing market could look in the near future. There are fears that prices could continue increasing, pushing more people out of the market. But the inverse fear also exists with a potential market crash, causing many who bought at current interest rates to lose their homes.

Illegal Immigration

Within frustrations about high taxes, there’s discussion about how tax revenue is spent by the government. Many people are complaining about taxpayer-funded programs for illegal aliens and more government workers. They argue that taxpayer money should be used to improve public services like education, law enforcement, and assistance for veterans.

There's significant negativity about the use of government resources to support immigrants with housing, food, phones, and services. Many people decry benefits given to illegal immigrants when so many American citizens are struggling to make ends meet. The perception by many people is that politicians prioritize illegal immigrants over their own constituents.

A particular sore point for many voters is the fact that citizens who pay taxes are forced to cover their own expenses along with those of people who do not pay taxes at all. There is a sentiment that low housing supply is only exacerbated by the influx of foreign nationals into the country. Many suggest restricting immigration rates could potentially lead to lower housing prices.

Overall Inflation Costs

The entire discussion about housing costs in the U.S. is ensconced withing larger worries about the overall economy and demoralizing inflation. In general, there’s frustration at perceived unfairness in the American economy.

Voters on both the left and the right point out an unfair distribution of the tax burden. Democrats tend to point out the rich as needing to pay more. Republicans lament the tax burden on middle class Americans.

Increasing food costs, gas prices, interest rates, costly travel and services, and insufficient wages are all common points of dissatisfaction. The cost of groceries alone on many Americans is making it harder for them to maintain their standard of living. Nearly everyone expresses their concern about how long this trend will continue.

Furthermore, there's worry that climate and energy policies could lead to further inflation. Some believe the climate agenda could spark new price hikes on food, adding to the financial struggles of many Americans.

Criticism of the Biden Administration

A significant portion of people attribute rising costs to certain political figures or administrations. Democrats tend to blame the Trump administration, and Republicans tend to blame Biden. Regardless of whose fault it is, most people agree on the need for more effective government action to control rising costs.

Most Americans agree that prices were better under the Trump administration. However, the reasons why cause disagreement along partisan lines. Liberals argue that inflation is a global issue, not just a problem in the U.S. They suggest the pandemic disrupted supply chains and labor markets worldwide, leading to increased prices.

Conservatives point out that inflation was relatively low during Trump’s administration, which happened to be right before the pandemic. They argue that pandemic spending started the ball rolling, but the Biden administration has severely worsened the situation.

• Inflation is in the top five topics people have discussed in the last 30 days regarding Joe Biden.
• Along with border security, many people say inflation is a top three issue in the upcoming 2024 election.

In general, Democrats tend to view Biden’s economy more positively than Republicans. However, negativity has been growing on both sides. This sentiment among Americans is at odds with how the media and the administration talks about the economy.

• Fewer and fewer people believe the media’s framing of America’s economic situation.
• Republicans tend to be more negative toward the economy in 2024.
• It is likely that the disparity between how the media discusses inflation and how American voters feel is convoluting opinions on the subject.