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Americans are mostly worried about poor leadership and inflation

concerns about government
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David Meyers
By David MeyersMar 29, 2022
David Meyers

David Meyers is the Executive Editor of The Fulcrum. Before launching The Fulcrum, David spent more than two decades at CQ Roll Call, a leading publisher of political news and information. During his time there, David served as managing editor of Roll Call (“the newspaper of Capitol Hill”) and as managing editor of member information and research, which included co-editing the definitive biographical directory of Congress, “Politics in America.” David went on to lead all of CQ Roll Call’s congressional research teams as vice president of research and content development before shifting to a revenue and strategy role as vice president of business operations for Roll Call, working with the advertising and editorial teams to develop new revenue models and expand the company’s events business. David lives in Fairfax, Va., with his wife, two daughters and rottweiler. A graduate of Tufts University, David is a past president of the Tufts University Alumni Association. He is also a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which works to celebrate and advance the role of women and minorities in the media. David currently serves on the board of directors for Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station.

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While concerns about inflation have skyrocketed since January, more Americans remain concerned about government than any other challenge facing the nation, according to a new poll.

Twenty-two percent of Americans told Gallup pollsters in March that government and poor leadership is the most important problem in the United States. That’s the sixth consecutive month in which at least one-fifth of Americans chose that response.

More than three times as many white people than people of color said government was the biggest problem, and that answer was 30 percent more common among Republicans than Democrats.

Selection of “unifying the country” has declined slightly, from 7 percent in January to 5 percent in March, well within the margin of error.

Economic issues overall were a more common answer, with 37 percent of respondents selecting among a number of topics. Inflation was the most popular of those answers, selected by 17 percent — up from 8 percent in January.

The Consumer Price Index, which measures inflation, reached 7.9 percent in February. That’s the highest rate in 40 years.

The coronavirus and disease in general is no longer a major concern among Americans. In January, when the latest Covid-19 wave peaked, 20 percent said it was the biggest problem facing the country. That dropped to 3 percent in March.

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Gallup served 1,017 adults March 1-18. The survey has a margin of error of 4 percentage points.

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