by Tom Joyce

 

Inflation is a big problem for Arizona residents, an Arizona Public Opinion Pulse (AZPOP) Survey conducted by OH Predictive Insights shows.

Released Thursday, the poll concluded that 62% of Arizonans had seen a monthly spending increase of $200 due to inflation.

The Phoenix metropolitan area is one of the nation’s hardest hit in terms of inflation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics released data on July 13 showing costs have increased 12% in 2022.

Reacting to the poll, Chuck Warren, Managing Director of the September Group, LLC. said that inflation amounts to a significant tax increase on the American people.

“Americans are basically experiencing the biggest tax increase in four decades,” Warren said in a press release. “Due to a myriad of factors including bad public policy, everyone is experiencing a massive tax increase that is impacting their household budgets and family’s lifestyle.”

Inflation has hit certain groups of people especially hard. The poll found that 84% of students and 79% of homemakers say inflation has negatively impacted them.

That said, OH Predictive Insights chief of research Mike Noble thinks inflation will be a top issue for Arizona voters this November.

“As wages struggle to keep pace with the rising prices of everyday items like fuel and food, the effects of inflation are burning in Arizonans’ wallets, and those concerns will almost certainly be voiced in the ballot box,” Noble said in a press release.

Older residents were the least likely to say that they had felt the effects of inflation (55%). However, it is impacting a majority of them as well.

The poll was conducted between July 5 to July 14 and had a 3.2% margin of error.

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Tom Joyce is a contributor to The Center Square.
Photo “Paying Bills” by Mikhail Nilov.