Voters Concerns Over Energy Prices Recede

A new Gallup survey has found that concerns over energy prices are receding amongst US voters.

• Gallup: “Last year, when gas prices were rising rapidly before hitting a record high in June, 47% of Americans said they worried a great deal about the availability and affordability of energy, one point below the high Gallup measured in both 2006 and 2012. The 2022 figure represented a 10-point surge from 2021.”
• “Now, with gas prices averaging about 80 cents less per gallon than a year ago, and about $1.50 less than the peak in June, concern about energy has eased. Forty-one percent of U.S. adults express a great deal of worry about energy.”
• The survey finds that concerns over social security have increased 8% since 2022. Government entitlement programmes have emerged as a key political issue in ongoing debt ceiling negotiations with the White House warning that Republican plans to limit government spending likely to affect the future viability of social spending programmes like Social Security and Medicare.

Figure 1: Americans’ Concern About Key Issues (% Concerned “a Great Deal”)

Source: Gallup