Monmouth University Poll: Strong Economy Doesn’t Hit Home

Health care costs top list of pocketbook concerns

On Apr 29, 2019

According to the latest Monmouth University Poll,  only 12 percent of Americans say that their family has benefited a great deal from recent growth in the U.S. economy and another 31 percent say they have received some benefit from the economic upturn. A majority, though, say they have been helped either not much (27 percent) or not at all (27 percent) from the nation’s macroeconomic growth. These results are nearly identical to Monmouth polls taken in 2018 as well as just before Trump took office in January 2017.  Only 34 percent of those earning less than $50,000 a year and 42 percent of those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 say they have benefited at least somewhat from the growing economy. This contrasts with those earning more the $100,000, where a majority (58 percent) say they have benefited.

Currently, just 18 percent of Americans say that middle-class families in general have benefited a lot from Trump’s policies so far, 37 percent say that middle-class families have benefited a little and 36 percent say they have not benefited at all.  These results are similar to a year ago, when 14 percent said the middle class benefited a lot, 45 percent a little, and 36 percent not at all. Public expectations were somewhat more positive shortly before Trump took office in January 2017, when 26 percent predicted that the middle class would see a lot of benefit from the new president’s policies, 40 percent said the middle class would see a little, and 29 percent said the middle class would not see any change in their situation.

“There just isn’t a sense that Donald Trump has come to the rescue of the middle class. He has his staunch defenders, but there hasn’t been any clear success in winning over the public on bread-and-butter issues,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.

A majority of Americans (58 percent) say that wealthy families have benefited a lot from Trump’s policies, 22 percent say the wealthy have benefited a little, and just 9 percent say not at all. These results are in line with results from a year ago (57 percent a lot, 26 percent a little, 7 percent not at all) as well as public expectations shortly before Trump took office (55 percent a lot, 31 percent a little, 7 percent not at all). Poor families continue to be seen as doing the worst under Trump, with just 14 percent saying that poor families have benefited a lot from the president’s policies and 26 percent saying a little, while just over half (51 percent) say the poor have not benefited at all.  These results are nearly identical to a year ago (12 percent a lot, 28 percent a little, 53 percent not at all).  More people expected that the poor would fare well when Trump first took office. In January 2017, 21 percent said poor families would see a lot of benefit from the new president’s policies, 36 percent said a little, and 37 percent said not at all.

Over half (54 percent) of the public say their current financial situation is stable, with the remainder divided between those saying they are struggling to remain where they are (20 percent) and those saying their situation is improving (25 percent).  The number who say they are struggling has gone down since Trump took office (from 29 percent in January 2017 and 24 percent in April 2018) while the number who say their situation is improving has risen slightly (from 20 percent in January 2017 and 23 percent in April 2018). The number who say there has been no change in their financial situation has remained fairly stable (51 percent in both 2017 and 2018).  Those earning less than $50,000 a year are less likely to say that they are struggling now (32 percent) than said the same either one year ago (41 percent) or two years ago (46 percent).  However, lower income residents continue to struggle more than those earning $50,000 to $100,000 (13 percent) or more than $100,000 (7 percent).

“One bit of good news in this poll is the decrease in the number of low income families who feel like they are struggling to stay afloat. However, this does not erase the general sense that administration policies really haven’t been of much help to working Americans,” said Murray.

When asked to name the biggest concern facing their families right now, the most commonly named problem is the cost of health care at 19 percent, which is up from 13 percent last year but down from 25 percent two years ago.  This is followed by taxes at 9 percent (7 percent in 2018 and 4 percent in 2017), everyday bills such as groceries at 8 percent (12 percent in 2018 and 12 percent in 2017), job security and employment worries at 7 percent (9 percent in 2018 and 14 percent in 2017), the economy in general at 6 percent (3 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in 2017), and immigration at 5 percent (4 percent in 2018 and 3 percent in 2017).  Other concerns include tuition and school costs (3 percent), civil rights (3 percent), social security (3 percent), family illness (3 percent), safety and crime (3 percent), the environment (3 percent), housing costs (2 percent), quality of government (2 percent), and education policy (2 percent).

Among those who earn $50,000 or less, the top concerns are health care (21 percent), everyday bills (13 percent), and jobs (10 percent).  Among those who earn between $50,000 and $100,000, the top concerns are health care (20 percent), everyday bills (9 percent), and taxes (9 percent). Among those who earn more than $100,000, the top concerns are taxes (14 percent), health care (13 percent), and immigration (7 percent).

Just 14 percent say that federal government actions have helped their family with their top concern over the past year while 42 percent say that the government’s actions have actually hurt their family in this area. Another 42 percent say the government has had no impact. These results are nearly identical to a year ago (14 percent helped, 39 percent hurt, 44 percent no impact) and slightly more negative than they were before Trump took office (27 percent helped, 37 percent hurt, 34 percent no impact).

The Monmouth University Poll also finds that few Americans are optimistic about the future impact government actions will have on their main concern. Currently, 29 percent expect that Washington’s actions over the next few years will help their family with their top concern, 32 percent expect that they will be hurt, and 26 percent expect no change.  One year ago, 26 percent expected that federal policies would help their family situation, 36 percent said they would be hurt, and 27 percent expected no impact either way. Days before Trump moved into the White House, more than 4-in-10 (42 percent) expected that the federal government would eventually help their family’s top concern, 33 percent expected to be hurt, and 21 percent expected no change.

The Monmouth University Poll was conducted by telephone from April 11 to 15, 2019 with 801 adults in the United States.  The question results in this release have a margin of error of +/- 3.5 percentage points. The poll was conducted by the Monmouth University Polling Institute in West Long Branch.

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