Bankrate survey found that people are not gaining wealth as experts think they should be
Housing affordability is a top 3 election issue for women and millennials and top 4 for men and older demographics.
A new survey from Bankrate asked American consumers and economics experts for their views on several key election issues and found that the two groups do not necessarily agree.
Consumers say that their financial situation has remained pretty much the same since President Trump took office in 2017 but the experts said their finances should have improved. Just 32% agreed with them while 21% said they were worse off.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, Republicans were more likely to say that their finances had improved during the Trump presidency (54%) while Democrats (21%) and independents (24%) were less impressed.
“As Americans become more focused on the presidential campaign and as a Democratic nominee emerges, our survey results appear to be a mixed bag for President Trump” says Mark Hamrick, Senior Economic Analyst for Bankrate. “While more individuals say their personal finances are better than worse since his election, voters are pressing for action on health care.”
Personal finance gains have disproportionately favored higher earning Americans with 84% of households earning $75,000/year or more saying their finances have improved or stayed the same and only 66% of households earning under $30,000/year, reporting the same.
Employment, taxes
As well as health care, employment and taxes stood out as the top three most important issues for next year’s election according to consumers.
“Amid signs the U.S. economy may have peaked, Americans’ collective focus on the job market presents risks for President Trump if a significant slowdown emerges,” added Hamrick. “That’s depending how the economy and the job market perform between now and the November 2020 election.”
