Ahead of next week”™s Federal Reserve meeting to determine whether interest rates will be going up, a new survey conducted by Nationwide Retirement Institute finds the majority of Americans believe the central bank should take a more aggressive approach to addressing inflation.
In a national poll of 2,000 adults, 64% of respondents faulted the Federal Reserve with not being responsive enough to the problems created by rising inflation. However, there were mixed opinions on whether a rate hike by the Fed would alleviate the inflationary stress ”“ respondents were more likely to feel worried (37%) or frustrated (30%) by news of a rate hike, with 23% feeling hopeful and 14% admitting they would be confused.
Nearly all respondents (90%) expressed concern about the soaring inflation rate, with 58% stating their purchasing power has declined because of the current economy. And many Americans are postponing major life events because of the situation, with 35% of Gen Z respondents and 34% of millennials claiming they either postponed or are considering postponing plans to start a family while 13% of consumers near retirement age (Gen Xers and baby boomers) have either postponed or are considering postponing plans to retire.
Daily lifestyle changes have also been altered because of inflation, with respondents stating they have been eating out less (48%), driving less (35%), relying more on credit cards (21%), looking for a better paying job (19%) and moving in with family to save money (14%).
“Following months of decades-high inflation, the war between Russia and Ukraine is intensifying inflationary pressures, worsening supply chain snarls, and spiking gas prices,” said Mark Hackett, Nationwide’s chief of investment research. “It’s understandable that consumer sentiment is very low right now. But Americans should know that the economy is actually performing better than people think, job security is extremely strong, and even though we’ve seen a lot of market volatility, consumers have record wealth due to equity market and home price rallies.”
