What does the public expect out of 2023?
It’s only been six days into 2023, and the country is already experiencing some history. The fractured Republican majority still has not elected the Speaker of the House. With over a dozen rounds of voting (and counting), this is the most rounds of voting that's been required to elect the Speaker since 1859.
At the same time, many of the tumultuous events of the past year are still fresh in the public’s mind. Inflation remains a pressing issue for many as fears about higher unemployment linger.
At this reflective and forward-looking time of year, we are examining how attitudes shifted last year and how the public is feeling about entering the new year. All of this is in five charts below.
- Inflation Bug. Last year, the country underwent monumental changes. Inflation climbed to 40-year highs as COVID became less of a priority for the public. The shifting issue landscape swayed how political leaders and decision-makers operated as bread-and-butter issues superseded the uncertainty and fears of the pandemic. The question remains this year, whether inflation will be able to be tamed. We will see.
- Declining trust. At the same time, it’s important to remember the political context undergirding this moment. Majorities in the U.S. and around the world feel the system is broken. That sentiment has softened worldwide in the past six years but is still held by many. Will the rancor subside? Maybe a bit.
- A bad year. At the personal and country-level, a majority of Americans feel the past year was bad for themselves and their family, far more than the number of people who felt this way before the pandemic. Similarly, a supermajority of Americans feels the past year was bad for the U.S., 28 points ahead of where Americans were just four years ago. We still suffer from the post-pandemic blues.
- Optimism remains. Despite the historic hurdles the country went through in 2020 and 2021, decisive majorities held out hope that the new year would be better than the past year. While a majority of Americans still have this same optimism for 2023, far fewer do than in years past. What do they say? Hope springs eternal.
- Economy is still a sore spot. Most Americans are bracing for an uncomfortable macroenvironment. Many expect inflation to be higher this year than last. A majority believe that unemployment will also be higher in 2023 than in 2022, though more still expect higher prices than higher jobless numbers at this point. Overall, Americans aren’t feeling optimistic about the global economic environment after a bruising year last year. It’s the economy stupid!?
Right now, Americans are feeling more apprehensive about the economy moving into the new year, worrying over the duel fears of higher unemployment and inflation. This crystalizes a fundamental change 2022 brought; the economy, and specifically inflation, passed COVID as people's main worry. All the while, populist sentiments continue to set the economic and political stage for public opinion.
Many feel that 2022 was a bad year for themselves and the country. Looking ahead, majorities of Americans are optimistic. Are Americans right? We will see.
