Want harmony with your relatives this Thanksgiving? Discuss the economy.
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- Despite cooling inflation, many Americans just don't feel good about the economy.
- Some lawmakers told Punchbowl News that housing costs, student loans, and ChatGPT are reasons why.
- The negative economic sentiment is rare common ground for Thanksgiving tables this year.
At long last, Thanksgiving tables across the country can find common ground on one topic: the economy.
Americans are feeling pretty miserable about the economy these days. A Suffolk University Sawyer Business School/USA TODAY poll of 1,000 Americans from September 6 to 11 found that 70% of respondents said the economy was getting worse, even as inflation continued to come down and job openings increased.
On top of that, it's a rare issue of bipartisan — and generational — agreement: in that same poll, 96% of surveyed Republicans said the economy is getting worse, along with 76% of independents and 34% of Democrats. And in an August USA Today survey conducted by The Harris Poll of 2,000 US adults, 65% of Gen Zers and 74% of millennials believe they are starting further behind financially than other generations.
Despite the malaise, President Joe Biden has touted the economic gains made during his administration. "Inflation has come down while the unemployment rate has been below 4% for 21 months in a row—the longest stretch in more than 50 years—while wages, wealth, and the share of working-age Americans with jobs are all higher now than before the pandemic," Biden said in a statement following the November inflation data. "I'm working to get results for the American people and it's happening—and I'm not going to let up for one second."
As Biden said, most economic measures looking pretty good. The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, increased 3.2% year-over-year in October, marking a decrease from the 3.7% reading a month prior, and the Federal Reserve has paused its interest rate increases as economic recovery progresses.
Some Americans aren't paying attention to that data because they're focused on the immediate financial strains they're feeling right now: after an over three-year pause, federal student-loan payments resumed and millions of borrowers are juggling an extra monthly bill alongside their other expenses.
On top of that, housing costs are high, childcare is expensive, and new technology is making some people nervous about their careers. A group of lawmakers told Punchbowl News that for those reasons and more, lower inflation and a gravity-defying jobs market aren't enough to promote positive economic sentiment across the country.
"While unemployment is very low, and while we created a whole lot of jobs and while we're making very good investments and rebuilding our manufacturing, the reality is that 60% of workers in America are living paycheck to paycheck," Sen. Bernie Sanders told Punchbowl. "Younger people will probably have a lower standard of living than their parents."
The rise of artificial intelligence and increased usage of ChatGPT are making young people worried about their financial futures, Democratic Rep. Bill Foster told Punchbowl.
"Young kids are very disturbed about AI when they think through their careers," he said. "They're thinking downstream, and they're more connected with ChatGPT, thinking through the implications. I think that's one of the undercurrents, particularly for young people — just the fact that the world seems so unstable."
OpenAI's newly reinstated CEO Sam Altman even said back in March that he's "a little bit scared" that ChatGPT could "eliminate" many jobs.
Many Americans need to directly feel financial relief to believe their circumstances are improving. A student-loan borrower with $480,000 in debt previously told Insider that the mounting expenses outside of her student loans are adding onto her financial stress.
"I've struggled to find employment that is sufficient enough to even just pay for a roof over my head and pay my rent, pay for food, pay for a car. I don't live an extravagant life, but just the basic necessities of life," she said.
"I'm 52 years old," she added. "So, I mean, at what point do we say, 'No, this isn't right?'"