A majority of New Jersey residents say they are cutting back on spending amidst rising prices, and nearly two-thirds of residents say they don’t think the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act will be helpful to them personally, according to a Rutgers-Eagleton
poll released today.
According to the poll, 28% of residents say they have cut back on spending “a lot,” 33% say “some,” 19% say “a little,” and 19% say “not at all.”
Broken down by political party, slightly less than half of Democrats say they have cut back on at least “some” spending, compared to two-thirds of independents and three-quarters of
Republicans.
The poll also found that non-white residents are more likely than non-Hispanic white residents by double digits to say they have cut back “a lot.”
Additionally, residents in households making less than $100,000 annually and those with some college or less are similarly more likely than their counterparts to say they have cut back on spending to afford necessities.
Asked whether they feel the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act will help them and their family all that much when it comes to personal finances and spending, about 10% said feel it will help them “a lot,” 24% said “some,” 22% “a little” and 38% “not at all.”
“There is a bit of a disconnect between support for the Inflation Reduction Act and how much New Jerseyans actually think they will be impacted, with even the law’s strongest supporters divided on how much it will help them personally,” said Ashley Koning, an assistant research professor and director of the Eagleton Center for Public Interest Polling (ECPIP) at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.
“The fact that voters do not perceive a significant personal benefit from major legislation by the Biden administration during difficult economic times is a troubling sign for Democratic candidates across the country with a consequential election just weeks away,” she added.
Results are from a statewide poll of 1,006 adults contacted by live interviewers on landlines and cell phones from Aug. 30 to Sept. 8 and has a margin of error of +/- 3.8 percentage
points.