Poll Says Energy, Food Prices Impact Wallets the Most - East Idaho News
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Poll Says Energy, Food Prices Impact Wallets the Most

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GETTY B 120710 ManWallet%20Money?  SQUARESPACE CACHEVERSION=1359146591021Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Energy and food prices top the list of financial concerns for most Americans, according to the latest Gallup poll.

Not only that, they top the next most-worried-about factors by 10 percentage points.

Gallup asked respondents this week whether a series of “situation[s]” are hurting their families’ finances. Here’s the rank order, according to how many people said these things were indeed hurting them:

  •     The price of energy, including gas: 79 percent.
  •     The price of food: 76 percent.
  •     Taxes: 69 percent.
  •     Health care costs: 68 percent.
  •     The federal debt ceiling: 56 percent.
  •     Government regulations: 48 percent.
  •     Federal spending cuts: 46 percent.
  •     Immigration policies: 38 percent.
  •     The availability of credit: 30 percent.

What’s notable about this list is that the costs of energy and food trump macro political concerns by far. On the one hand, 56 percent said “the federal debt ceiling” is hurting family finances, and that number may or may not seem high. On the other hand, far fewer were worried about it than were worried about high food prices.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

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