US heads in wrong direction, poll finds

An overwhelming majority of people in the United States are dissatisfied with the direction the country is going in and their biggest economic concern is inflation, according to a survey.

A Gallup poll released this past week shows 78 percent of the respondents are dissatisfied with where the country is heading, while just 21 percent say they are satisfied.

The proportion of those saying national economic conditions are getting worse increased 3 percentage points to 70 percent in February; the ranks of those describing these conditions as "poor" rose 5 percentage points to 42 percent. Both figures are tied for the highest they have been since the first months of the pandemic.

Some 30 percent of the respondents mentioned at least one economic problem, such as inflation or the economy in general. That was up from 22 percent of combined economic issues mentioned in January and, along with December's 29 percent reading, is the highest percentage citing economic concerns over the past year.

Consumer prices in January rose 6.1 percent from a year earlier, according to the Federal Reserve's preferred gauge. Excluding volatile food and energy categories, core inflation rose 5.2 percent to a near 40-year high.

Top problem

With the recent decline in coronavirus infections from the waning Omicron variant, the proportion of people in the US citing COVID-19 as the top problem fell to 13 percent, after reaching 20 percent in January.

Dissatisfaction with government and leadership was listed by 20 percent of respondents. That includes contrasting partisan perspectives, including criticisms of the administration of US President Joe Biden among Republicans and criticisms of Republicans in Congress among Democrats.

The poll was conducted from Feb 1-17 amid reports that Russia was positioning its military forces along its border with Ukraine. At the time of the survey, only 2 percent of respondents cited "the situation with Russia" when asked to say what they think is the most important problem facing the country today.

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said on Thursday that the Ukraine-Russia conflict is likely to boost inflation in the short run.

"We're going to see upward pressure on inflation, at least for a while", from higher commodity prices, especially energy costs, he said during an appearance before the Senate Banking Committee. Powell said the only question was how long that pressure would last.

The conflict in Ukraine is also exacerbating global supply chain woes, he said, and these will lead to more inflation. "It is not going to help at all with supply chains, because ships are not being offloaded," Powell said.