By Paul Wiseman and Hannah Fingerhut | The Associated Press

March 22, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — Only 10% of U.S. adults say they have high confidence in the nation’s banks and other financial institutions, a new poll finds. That’s down from the 22% who said they had high confidence in 2020.

Following the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank this month, the poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research also finds that a majority say the government is not doing enough to regulate the industry.

The underwhelming assessment of America’s banks and bank regulation comes after a series of shocks brought back disturbing memories of the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

Silicon Valley Bank, the nation’s 16th-biggest, failed March 10 after making risky bets in the bond market. Two days later, regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank, which had gotten involved in cryptocurrencies. Across the Atlantic Ocean, long-troubled Credit Suisse was acquired by rival UBS on Sunday in a shotgun marriage designed to restore confidence in global financial institutions.

In the United States, the tumult has raised questions among policymakers about 2018 legislation that rolled back strict regulations put in place after the financial crisis.

The poll suggests the U.S. public shares that concern: 56% say the government isn’t doing enough to regulate banks and other financial institutions, while 27% say it’s doing the right amount and 15% say it’s regulating too much. The worry about under-regulation is bipartisan: 63% of Democrats say current bank regulation is insufficient, as do 51% of Republicans.

U.S. Marine Corps veteran Philip Metscher, 53, a stay-at-home father of seven in Sacramento, California, said he has little faith in bankers or the government agencies that are supposed to regulate them.

“It’s like they have free rein to do whatever they want with money,” said Metscher, a Republican.

The poll finds that in addition to the 10% of Americans saying that they have high confidence in the nation’s banking institutions, 57% do have some confidence; 31% have hardly any.

Though confidence in banks and financial institutions has decreased even since the last time that question was asked on an AP-NORC poll in 2020, low confidence among Americans in their public institutions is nothing new — the General Social Survey, which has tracked trends in public opinion for decades, shows that confidence in institutions ranging from the financial industry to organized religion and from the news media to Congress has declined substantially since the 1970s. The new poll shows few Americans have high confidence in any branch of the U.S. government.

There’s been little change in the already glum assessment of the U.S. economy since a month ago, before the recent banking system turmoil, the poll shows. Only a quarter say national economic conditions are good; three quarters call them poor.

But 43% of Democrats call the economy good, versus just 7% of Republicans.

About half of U.S. adults describe their personal financial situations as good, a drop from last year when about 6 in 10 said that. About 6 in 10 Democrats and about half of Republicans give positive assessments of their current finances.

With a Democrat in the White House, Republicans are more likely than Democrats (36% versus 15%) to say their finances will get worse over the next year; 38% of Democrats say they expect their finances to improve, versus 22% of Republicans.

Overall, about half of U.S. adults expect U.S. economic conditions to deteriorate over the next year. Again, there’s a political divide: About three-quarters of Republicans but only a third of Democrats expect the national economy to worsen.

American households have been hit hard by inflation, which began to pick up in the spring of 2021. Adjusted for inflation, U.S. hourly wages have fallen for 23 straight months compared to a year earlier.

“You never know what’s going on. It’s paycheck to paycheck,” said Metscher in Sacramento. “I’m looking at food prices, gas prices. It reminds me of being a kid growing up’’ during the high-inflation 1970s.

Tyronda Springer, 28, a mother of two in Banks, Alabama, who works in a warehouse loading trucks, is struggling with the cost of living.

“I get paid every two weeks,” she said. “One of my checks goes straight to daycare. The rest is what I have to use to pay the bills. It’s just ridiculous.’’ But Springer, a Democrat, blames businesses, not President Joe Biden or the government, for ratcheting prices higher. “The government can only do so much,’’ she said.

In response to surging consumer prices, the Federal Reserve has raised its benchmark interest rate nine times over the past year, including by a quarter-point on Wednesday. But the rate hikes are putting a strain on banks. In fact, Silicon Valley Bank ran into trouble as higher rates pushed down the value of its investments in bonds.

“It’s a financial house of cards,” said Bryan Martin, 49, of Westfield, New York, who works at a sewage treatment plant.

“The Fed is stuck,” said Martin, who does not identify with either political party but leans Republican. The central bank has to raise interest rates to fight inflation, but higher rates are hurting the financial system. “These banks,’’ he said, “are starting to fail.’’

Darlene Brady, 72, a retired nurse’s aide in Butler, Pennsylvania, has limited confidence in banks. Still, Brady, a Democrat, is not worried about her own bank savings, thanks to federal deposit insurance that covers up to $250,000.

“I’m way below that,” she said. ___

The poll of 1,081 adults was conducted Mar. 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

By Cora Lewis | The Associated Press

March 22, 2023

NEW YORK (AP) — As the Federal Reserve raises interest rates again, credit card debt is already at a record high, and more people are carrying debt month to month.

The Fed’s interest rate increases are meant to fight inflation, but they’ve also led to higher annual percentage rates (APRs) for people with credit card debt, which means they pay more in interest. The Fed announced Wednesday that it would increase rates another quarter of a point.

With inflation still high, people are leaning on their credit cards more for everyday purchases.

“It’s the economy, inflation, gas prices, and food costs,” said Lance DeJesus, 46, kitchen manager at the Golden Corral in York, Pennsylvania. “A year ago, you could go to the grocery store with a hundred bucks and come out with a bunch of bags. Now, I come out with just one bag.”

DeJesus said he carries a credit card balance of roughly $2,600 from month to month over several cards, which have interest rates from 16.99% to 21.99%.

Early in the pandemic, when DeJesus lost his job, he said that unemployment payments, stimulus checks, and child tax credits (which went to his household via his wife, who has three children) all helped him stay afloat. Now, with COVID-era emergency relief and stimulus policies ending, he uses credit for emergencies.

He’s not alone: 46% of people are carrying debt from month to month, up from 39% a year ago, according to Bankrate.com, an online financial information site.

Bankrate says the average credit card interest rate, or annual percentage rate, has reached 20.4% — the highest since their tracking began in the mid-1980s.

A new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds 35% of U.S. adults report that their household debt is higher than it was a year ago. Just 17% say it has decreased.

Roughly 4 in 10 adults in households making under $100,000 a year say their debt is up, compared with about a quarter in households making more than that. About half of Black and Hispanic adults say their household debt has increased, compared with about 3 in 10 white adults.

Data also shows more people are now falling behind on payments, according to Bankrate analyst Greg McBride. He sees this as evidence of a so-called “K-shaped recovery” from the pandemic, in which the distance between the haves and the have-nots grows larger.

“The more than half who pay in full each month are clearly doing a lot better than the almost half who don’t,” McBride said. “Those who tend to carry balances tend to be younger people, people making lower incomes, and those with lower credit scores. Another factor contributing to rising debt is inflation, which means the cost of day-to-day living is outpacing paychecks.”

Typically, on a national scale, it takes something pretty extraordinary for credit card balances to fall, economists agree. The Great Recession, beginning in 2008, and COVID, beginning in 2020, are two periods when they fell sharply.

During the early pandemic, credit card debt dipped 17%, Bankrate said — thanks in part to stimulus programs, emergency relief, and a decrease in consumer spending.

But in the last three months of 2022, credit card balances in the U.S. increased $61 billion to $986 billion, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of $927 billion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Using a credit card can provide protections for people who can pay off the balance every month. But the cost for those who can’t is high.

“What’s not good is carrying balances, paying interest, and falling behind,” McBride said. “No one wants to be paying 20% every month.”

For Gary Deuvall, 68, of Walls, Mississippi, who worked servicing and repairing motorcycles, stimulus checks brought some financial relief even though the pandemic hurt his business.

Now retired and on Social Security, Deuvall and his wife still have some credit card debt, he said, “in the five figures,” but they’ve also transferred that balance to a zero percent interest card to help contend with high rates.

Zero percent interest offers are generally available only for a limited period, sometimes up to 21 months, and banks sometimes charge a flat fee, such as 3% of the balance transferred.

“We’d hoped to build or buy a house,” Deuvall said. “But interest rates are so high, that’s on pause. Meanwhile, I’ll just rent.”

Dan Stokes, 31, a special education teacher based in Richmond, Virginia, said that a pause on student loan payments that began during the pandemic has helped him make ends meet, but he still carries about $8,000 in credit card debt from month to month across at least three cards.

Of that, Stokes said he’s moved about $1,200 to a zero percent interest card for the next twelve months.

“Honestly, it feels really good that I don’t have to make those student debt payments at the moment,” he said of the emergency policy, which has been extended until the summer. “My pay as a teacher hasn’t kept up with inflation, so there are times when I’m swiping my credit cards just to get by and make it through.”

Credit card rates are one of the fastest ways higher interest rates hit consumers.

“Most car loans and mortgages are fixed-rate. So if you’re new to the market, it has a big effect, but if you have an existing loan, it’s not affecting you,” McBride said. “With credit cards, the higher interest rate gets passed through pretty much right away.”

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The poll of 1,081 adults was conducted Mar. 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

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AP Polling Editor Emily Swanson in Washington contributed to this report.

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Find more of AP’s financial wellness coverage here: https://apnews.com/hub/financial-wellness

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The Associated Press receives support from Charles Schwab Foundation for educational and explanatory reporting to improve financial literacy. The independent foundation is separate from Charles Schwab and Co. Inc. The AP is solely responsible for its journalism.

By Josh Boak and Emily Swanson | The Associated Press

March 23, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — Approval of President Joe Biden has dipped slightly since a month ago, nearing the lowest point of his presidency as his administration tries to project a sense of stability while confronting a pair of bank failures and inflation that remains stubbornly high.

That’s according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which shows there have been modest fluctuations in support for Biden over the past several months. The president notched an approval rating of 38% in the new poll, after 45% said they approved in February and 41% in January. His ratings hit their lowest point of his presidency last July, at 36%, as the full weight of rising gasoline, food and other costs began to hit U.S. households.

In recent months, approval of Biden had been hovering above 40%.

Interviews with poll respondents suggest the public has mixed feelings about Biden, who is expected to announce a reelection bid by this summer. When it comes to the president, people generally do not swing between the extremes of absolute loyalty and aggressive loathing that have been a feature of this era’s divided politics.

“Neutral towards approve,” Andrew Dwyer, 30, said of Biden. “I don’t think he’s the best at representing my position and issues. But I know being president involves compromises.”

Dwyer, a data analyst in Milwaukee, said he voted for the president in 2020 and considers himself to be liberal. He acknowledged the recent failures of the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, but he said that the economy is adjusting to higher interest rates set by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation.

“We all got so used to cheap debt and the ability to throw money around,” Dwyer said. He said there were “pain points” caused by higher borrowing costs but that he thinks the process will “ultimately” lead to a healthier economy.

The president has taken ambitious steps to boost the U.S. economy, with his $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package from 2021, infrastructure investments, support for computer chip plants and taxes on corporations and the wealthy to help fund health care and a shift away from fossil fuels.

But those efforts involve multiyear investments that have yet to provide much optimism to a public dealing with annual inflation at 6%. The president and other administration officials have toured the country to promote their achievements. But to many, the economy feels as though it could be on a knife’s edge after the recent bank failures, as well as the debt limit showdown with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., that could put the U.S. government at risk of defaulting.

Just 31% approve of Biden’s stewardship of the national economy, about where it’s been over the course of the last year. His handling of the nation’s economic fortunes has been a weak point at least since late 2021, when the inflation that the administration had suggested was transitory became a bigger pain point for businesses and families.

Michael McComas, 51, voted Republican in 2020 and described Biden as “not great — average, I guess.” A resident of Westland, Michigan, he noted that it will take years to determine whether federal infrastructure spending fulfills the promises made by Biden.

McComas said he believes inflation is the direct result of government spending to counter the pandemic, a claim that Biden has personally rejected when asked by reporters.

“We poured so much money into the system — that’s a little frustrating that we were shocked that we got hit by inflation when a lot of our policies were inflationary,” McComas said.

The difference between Biden’s approval overall and his approval on the economy is driven largely by Democrats, 76% of whom say they approve of how he’s handling his job as president while 63% approve of his handling of the economy. Few Republicans approve of Biden on either count.

Democrats under the age of 45 feel less positive about Biden, causing a drag on his approval ratings. Just 54% approve of the president’s economic leadership, compared to 72% of Democrats older than 45. Similarly, just 66% of Democrats under 45 approve of Biden overall, compared to 85% of older Democrats.

Only about a quarter of Americans say the national economy is good or that the country is headed in the right direction, the poll shows. Those numbers have also fluctuated only slightly over the last few months.

Ratings of Biden’s handling of foreign policy (39%) and climate change (41%) are about on par with his overall approval ratings. Seventy-four percent of Democrats and 9% of Republicans approve of Biden on foreign policy, while 67% of Democrats and 17% of Republicans approve of his handling of climate change.

Theresa Ojuro, a 29-year-old doctoral student in Rochester, New York, said she “expected more” from Biden — “just a little bit more stability with the economy.” Ojuro, who voted for Biden in 2020, also noted that the bank failures are dragging down her sentiment, but she worries about how high taxes are in New York state relative to the benefits provided.

“If Biden is doing his job, why in a state like this can you see people really suffering?” Ojuro said.

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The poll of 1,081 adults was conducted Mar. 16-20 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

By Matthew Daly and Nuha Dolby | The Associated Press

October 25, 2022

WASHINGTON (AP) — Nearly two-thirds of Americans think the federal government is not doing enough to fight climate change, according to a new poll that shows limited public awareness about a sweeping new law that commits the U.S. to its largest ever investment to combat global warming.

Democrats in Congress approved the Inflation Reduction Act in August, handing President Joe Biden a hard-fought triumph on priorities that his party hopes will bolster prospects for keeping their House and Senate majorities in November’s elections.

Biden and Democratic lawmakers have touted the new law as a milestone achievement leading into the midterm elections, and environmental groups have spent millions to boost the measure in battleground states. Yet the poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research finds that 61% of U.S. adults say they know little to nothing about it.

While the law was widely heralded as the largest investment in climate spending in history, 49% of Americans say it won’t make much of a difference on climate change, 33% say it will help and 14% think it will do more to hurt it.

The measure, which passed without a single Republican vote in either chamber, offers nearly $375 billion in incentives to accelerate expansion of clean energy such as wind and solar power, speeding the transition away from fossil fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas that largely cause climate change.

Combined with spending by states and the private sector, the law could help shrink U.S. carbon emissions by about two-fifths by 2030 and chop emissions from electricity by as much as 80%, advocates say.

Michael Katz, 84, of Temple, New Hampshire, said he thinks Biden has “done an amazing amount of work” as president. “I’m sort of in awe of what he’s done,″ said Katz, a Democrat and retired photographer. Still, asked his opinion of the Inflation Reduction Act, Katz said, “I’m not acquainted with” it.

After learning about the law’s provisions, Katz said he supports increased spending for wind and solar power, along with incentives to purchase electric vehicles. Even stronger measures — such as restrictions on rebuilding in coastal areas damaged by Hurricane Ian or other storms — are warranted, Katz said, but he doubts they’ll ever be approved.

“People want their dreams to come true: to live near the ocean in a big house,″ he said.

Leah Stokes, an environmental policy professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara, said she was not surprised the climate law is so little known, despite massive media coverage when it was debated in Congress, approved and signed by Biden.

The law was passed during the summer, when people traditionally pay less attention to news, “and it takes time to explain it,″ especially since many of the law’s provisions have not yet kicked in, Stokes said.

Biden and congressional Democrats “delivered in a big way on climate,″ she said, but now must focus on helping the public understand the law and “winning the win.″

Meredith McGroarty, a waitress from Pontiac, Michigan, said she was unfamiliar with the new law but supports increased climate action. “I have children I’m leaving behind to this world,″ she said.

McGroarty, 40, a Democrat, urged Biden and other leaders to talk more about the climate law’s “effects on normal, everyday people. Let us know what’s going on a little more.″

Americans are generally more likely to support than oppose many of the government actions on climate change included in the law, the poll shows. That includes incentives for electric vehicles and solar panels, though relatively few say they are inclined to pursue either in the next three years.

About half of Americans think government action that targets companies with restrictions is very important, the poll shows, while about a third say that about restrictions on individuals. A majority of Americans, 62%, say companies’ refusal to reduce energy use is a major problem for efforts to reduce climate change, while just about half say people not willing to reduce their energy use is a major problem.

Slightly more than half also say it’s a major problem that the energy industry is not doing enough to supply power from renewable sources such as wind and solar, and about half say the government is not investing enough in renewable energy.

Overall, 62% of U.S. adults say the government is doing too little to reduce climate change, while 19% say it’s doing too much and 18% think it’s doing the right amount.

Democrats are more likely than others to think the federal government is doing too little on climate: 79% say that, compared to 67% of independents and 39% of Republicans. About three-quarters of Black and Hispanic Americans think there’s too little action, compared to about half of white Americans.

And about three-quarters of adults under 45 think there’s too little action on climate, significantly higher than the roughly half of those older who think that.

Robert Stavins, professor of energy and economic development at the Harvard Kennedy School, said it makes sense for the government to step in to promote renewable energy on a large scale.

“Individual action is not going to be sufficient in 10 or even 20 years,” he said. “You need government policies to create incentives for industry and individuals to move in a carbon-friendly direction.″

Americans want to own a car, “and they are not going to buy one that’s expensive,″ Stavins said, so government needs to lower costs for electric vehicles and encourage automakers to produce more EVs, including widespread availability of charging stations. Biden has set a goal to install 500,000 charging stations across America as part of the 2021 infrastructure law.

On renewable energy, nearly two-thirds of U.S. adults say offshore wind farms should be expanded, and about 6 in 10 say solar panel farms should be expanded. Biden has moved to expand offshore wind and solar power as president.

Americans are divided on offshore drilling for oil and natural gas. Around a third say such drilling should be expanded, while about as many say it should be reduced; another third say neither.

Republicans were more likely than Democrats to be in favor of expanding offshore drilling, 54% to 20%.

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The poll of 1,003 adults was conducted Sep. 9-12 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.0 percentage points.

By Josh Boak and Hannah Fingerhut | The Associated Press

February 6, 2023

WASHINGTON (AP) — A majority of Democrats now think one term is plenty for President Joe Biden, despite his insistence that he plans to seek reelection in 2024.

That’s according to a new poll from The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research that shows just 37% of Democrats say they want him to seek a second term, down from 52% in the weeks before last year’s midterm elections.

While Biden has trumpeted his legislative victories and ability to govern, the poll suggests relatively few U.S. adults give him high marks on either. Follow-up interviews with poll respondents suggest that many believe the 80-year-old’s age is a liability, with people focused on his coughing, his gait, his gaffes and the possibility that the world’s most stressful job would be better suited for someone younger.

“I, honestly, think that he would be too old,” said Sarah Overman, 37, a Democrat who works in education in Raleigh, North Carolina. “We could use someone younger in the office.”

As the president gives his State of the Union address Tuesday, he has a chance to confront fundamental doubts about his competence to govern. Biden has previously leaned heavily on his track record to say that he’s more than up to the task. When asked if he can handle the office’s responsibilities at his age, the president has often responded as if he’s accepting a dare: “Watch me.”

Democratic candidates performed better than expected in the 2022 midterm elections, a testament to Biden’s message that he is defending democracy and elevating the middle class. Democrats expanded their control of the Senate by one seat and narrowly lost their House majority even though history indicated there would be a Republican wave.

When asked about the survey’s findings at Monday’s news briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre indicated that the results in last year’s election mattered more than polling numbers.

“The way that we should look at this is what we saw from the midterms,” said Jean-Pierre, noting that the relative Democratic successes were “because the president went out there and spoke directly to the American people.”

Overall, 41% approve of how Biden is handling his job as president, the poll shows, similar to ratings at the end of last year. A majority of Democrats still approve of the job Biden is doing as president, yet their appetite for a reelection campaign has slipped despite his electoral track record. Only 22% of U.S. adults overall say he should run again, down from 29% who said so before last year’s midterm elections.

The decline among Democrats saying Biden should run again for president appears concentrated among younger people. Among Democrats age 45 and over, 49% say Biden should run for reelection, nearly as many as the 58% who said that in October. But among those under age 45, 23% now say he should run for reelection, after 45% said that before the midterms.

Linda Lockwood, a Democrat and retiree from Kansas City, Kansas, said she is not that worried about Biden’s age.

“He seems to be in pretty good condition in my opinion and that’s coming from a 76-year-old woman,” Lockwood said. “You might be a little more careful going down the steps as you get older, but if your brain is still working, that’s the important part.”

Already the oldest president in U.S. history, Biden has been dogged by questions about his age as he would be 86 if he serves a full eight years as president. He often works long days, standing for hours, remembering the names of strangers he meets while traveling who want to share a story about their lives with him.

Yet he’s been a national political figure for a half-century, having first been elected to the Senate from Delaware in 1972, and the moments when he appears lost on stage or stumbles through speeches can garner more attention than his policies.

Voters like Ross Truckey, 35, have been watching the president carefully. A lawyer in Michigan, Truckey did not vote for Biden or Republican Donald Trump in 2020. He feels as though Biden has been the latest in a string of “subpar” presidents.

“His age and possibly his mental acuity is not where I would want the leader of the country to be,” Truckey said. “He, at times, appears to be an old man who is past his prime. Sometimes I feel a little bit of pity for the guy being pushed out in front of crowds.”

Biden has repeatedly emphasized in speeches that it’s essential for the public to know the totality of what his administration is doing. It’s notched four big legislative victories with coronavirus relief, the bipartisan infrastructure law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and tax and spending measures that help to address climate change and improve the IRS’ ability to enforce the tax code and help taxpayers.

Yet just 13% have a lot of confidence in Biden’s ability to accomplish major policy goals, a possible reflection of the fact that he must now work with a Republican majority in the House that wants to cut spending in return for lifting the government’s legal borrowing authority.

The poll also shows only 23% of U.S. adults say they have “a great deal” of confidence in Biden to effectively manage the White House. That has ticked down from 28% a year ago and remains significantly lower than 44% two years ago, just as Biden took office.

Just 21% have a lot of confidence in Biden’s ability to handle a crisis, down slightly from 26% last March.

On working with congressional Republicans and managing government spending, roughly half of U.S. adults say they have hardly any confidence in the president, and only around 1 in 10 say they have high confidence.

Republican voters are unwilling to give Biden the benefit of the doubt, hurting his ratings.

John Rodriguez, 76, backed Trump and assumes that Biden is merely doing the bidding of his aides. That creates a challenge for a president who promised to unite the country.

“I believe he’s not the one who’s calling the shots,” said Rodriguez, who lives in Cutler Bay, Florida. “He’s a puppet being told where to go, what to say.”

But the key obstacle for Biden might be voters such as Vikram Joglekar, 46, who works in the computer industry in Austin, Texas. He backed the president in 2020, only to summarize his feelings about Biden’s time in office as “meh.”

“It’s not up for me to decide whether someone should run or not,” Joglekar said. “I don’t know who is going to be on the ballot, but I would hope it would be someone better from his party.”

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The poll of 1,068 adults was conducted Jan. 26-30 using a sample drawn from NORC’s probability-based AmeriSpeak Panel, which is designed to be representative of the U.S. population. The margin of sampling error for all respondents is plus or minus 4.2 percentage points.

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Follow AP’s coverage of the State of the Union address at: https://apnews.com/hub/state-of-the-union-address