"The midterms might hinge on a 'cleanup on Aisle 4!'"

According to an Axios survey by The Harris Poll, most Americans believe it is harder to afford groceries compared to a year ago. The findings, released Thursday, show that 47% of the general public feel pain in their wallets, while 34% said that prices are about the same. Meanwhile, 19% of respondents think groceries are now easier to afford.

Among independents, 54% say groceries are more costly, compared to 50% of Democrats and 34% of Republicans. Republicans remained more split in their responses — with 28% arguing that they are easier to afford, while 37% say they are similar to last year.

The survey also found that 8 in 10 Americans believe the president has “significant influence” over the U.S. economy, and only 47% believe the current administration has had a positive impact on it, signaling a pressure point for Trump and the GOP ahead of the 2026 midterms. Less than 1 in 3 respondents maintain that tariffs have been beneficial for the economy, business or personal finances, while most Americans — standing at 63% — worry of shortages of key goods due to Trump’s signature policy.

  • Washedupcynic@lemmy.caEnglish
    19·
    7 days ago

    I operate on a beans and rice budget; shit like an 6 ounce can of tomato past went from $0.60 to $1.00. Same sorts of price increases go for rice, beans, garbonzos and other canned/dry non perishables. Flour has gone up. Sugar has gone up. Don’t even get me started on the price of meat. Produce has gone up, A bulb of garlic cost $1.00 now, and where it used to be 30-50 cents. Green onions $1.50 when they used to be $1.00. Seeing similar price rises in cilantro, fresh corn, cucumbers, potatos, onions. I started making stuff from scratch to save money . . . aaaannnnd it’s gone.

    • pahlimur@lemmy.world
      11·
      7 days ago

      Our grocery budget is up at least 50% in the last few months. Food is becoming stupid expensive.

      • AA5B@lemmy.world
        2·
        5 days ago

        Yeah, my youngest just headed off to college so I was hoping to at least get a break in food prices but nope. My grocery bill for only me is essentially the same as when I also had a starving teenager to fill up

  • possumparty@lemmy.blahaj.zone
    21·
    6 days ago

    Bought three days of food on Sunday for $80. Four boxes of ready rice, two chicken breasts, two Italian sausages, one steak, french beans, brussel sprouts, and some asparagus. They can eat my ass with this cheap grocery narrative.

  • h3ll3rsh4nks@ani.social
    1·
    6 days ago

    The people claiming prices are the same or lower either are lying or their butlers are picking up the groceries.

  • StinkyFingerItchyBum@lemmy.caEnglish
    156·
    8 days ago

    It appeared that there had even been demonstrations to thank Big Brother for raising the chocolate ration to twenty grams a week. And only yesterday […] it had been announced that the ration was to be reduced to twenty grams a week. Was it possible that they could swallow that, after only twenty-four hours? Yes, they swallowed it.

    • George Orwell, 1984
    • Mog_fanatic@lemmy.world
      15·
      8 days ago

      Literally everything is. It’s insanity. Politically conscious People’s opinions in this country now have their entire reality dictated to them by their party of choice.

      • balance8873@lemmy.myserv.one
        51·
        7 days ago

        Wow what a take.

        Groceries being expensive isnt some thought injected into my head by Nancy pelosi from beyond the grave. It’s a measurable fact that is true or is not true.

    • xxce2AAb@feddit.dk
      8·
      8 days ago

      partisan lines

      Ah, you mean between people who accept objective reality as fact and people who don’t.

  • Typhoon@lemmy.ca
    51·
    8 days ago

    19% of respondents think groceries are now easier to afford.

    These are the people who love the emperor’s new clothes.

    • 60d@lemmy.caEnglish
      13·
      8 days ago

      It’s amazing when prices go up, wages go down, and unemployment goes up, just how many people can’t understand basic things like their grocery bill when politics are somehow involved, lol.

    • thatKamGuy@sh.itjust.works
      8·
      7 days ago

      I’m sure there would’ve been one or two occasions where he may have stepped into a (likely closed) one, in order to survey before demolishing it to build one of his gaudy towers or failed casinos.

  • xxce2AAb@feddit.dk
    38·
    8 days ago

    Americans can’t afford to buy shit, not even the literal kind. That’s rather the point.

    • tidderuuf@lemmy.world
      14·
      8 days ago

      Literally, my sewage bill North of Seattle went from $76 a month to $189 a month in less than 10 years. That’s not even including water usage. Looks like my only option to save money in the long run is to go septic because at this rate my literal shit is going to make me bankrupt when I retire.

      • xxce2AAb@feddit.dk
        9·
        8 days ago

        …And that’s when you start manufacturing gunpowder the old fashioned way. To defray costs, obviously. I can’t imagine why else you’d do it, under the circumstances.

        Ahem.

      • ronl2k@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        7 days ago

        Incinerator toilets like the Incinolet don’t need septic or water. They can also be used to burn small trash. But there are downsides:

        • Incinolet toilet: $3000
        • Per flush: 2000 watts (120v), 3500 watts (240v)
        • Incinerates at 1400°F
        • Cheapest liners: 7¢ each flush. 18" sheets of wax paper would be cheaper. 7¢ liners might be too small for explosive diarrhea splatter.
        • Incineration cycles can be interrupted and restarted.
        • Need a 5" vent hole pipe.
    • Jack_Burton@lemmy.ca
      10·
      8 days ago

      Not just Americans. I just spent $145 CAD on at best 5 days worth of food. Granted I’m doing my best not to eat shitty food so it was fresh veg among other non/less processed stuff. Barely any meat too. Food costs are insane in Canada too.

      • xxce2AAb@feddit.dk
        7·
        8 days ago

        145 CAD

        That’s like 660 DKK given current exchange rates. Oh, you sweet summer child. Good thing I like cabbage.

        But yes, the Trump Slump is real everywhere. Russia isn’t helping either, the pricks.

  • PeacefulForest@lemmy.world
    34·
    8 days ago

    To believe it would be to deny reality. Can someone please tell republicans that you can’t just say thing’s to make it true.

    • AA5B@lemmy.world
      28·
      8 days ago

      They seem to have gotten away with it so far. They have no reason to stop making up alternate realities until their constituents stop believing them

    • salacious_coaster@infosec.pubEnglish
      8·
      8 days ago

      Saying things doesn’t make them true; but repeated, consistent messaging sure as fuck makes people believe it. Human brains are pitifully easy to brute force.

  • odama626@lemmy.world
    30·
    8 days ago

    So they polled people on subjective opinions instead of looking at the data? Wtf kind of reporting is this?

    • jonne@infosec.pub
      32·
      8 days ago

      It’s useful in the sense that people vote on what they feel the facts are, not the actual facts. Crime statistics might be trending down, but if there’s a ton of crime stories in the news people feel like crime is up. There’s similar dynamics at play when it comes to inflation and other economic indicators.

      • MonkeMischief@lemmy.today
        2·
        7 days ago

        Oh yes!

        Also fun when everyone we know is lamenting their inability to land an interview and getting ghosted, while the news reports record profits and low unemployment numbers and hiring sprees.

        And then when companies want to keep their staff from getting too uppity, we start hearing how everything is precarious and layoffs are high and unemployment is rising.