Americans Begin to Feel Better about Economy as Inflation Slows
2024-01-25
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1Life is still more costly in the United States than it was about two years ago.
2But new research shows Americans are starting to feel better about the economy.
3An opinion study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans are increasingly hopeful that the inflation rate will continue to go down.
4The survey also found that the number of Americans who expect their financial situation to improve within the next year is at its highest since June 2021.
5In addition, the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers recently reported the largest two-month jump in consumer sentiment since 1991.
6Consumer sentiment is a measure of how optimistic consumers feel about the economy.
7That optimism is balanced, however, by the fact that most Americans remember paying much less for daily purchases such as fuel and food only two or three years ago.
8Many food items such as bread, milk and chicken are more costly than they were in February 2021.
9But economists say price increases have slowed significantly in the last year.
10At the same time, Americans are seeing pay increases higher than the rate of inflation.
11The inflation rate was about 9 percent in June 2022.
12Today, the rate is 3.4 percent.
13 U.S. Federal Reserve would like to see the rate at only 2 percent.
14Grace Zwemmer is an analyst at Oxford Economics. She said it took some time for Americans to feel the effects of falling inflation.
15But, she said, "it appears the good news is finally getting through."
16Political observers wonder if the change in feelings about the economy will help U.S. President Joe Biden's re-election campaign.
17Will people feel the drop in inflation or will they still remember that prices are much higher than they were two or three years ago?
18Ryan Cummings is an economist who studies how politics affect consumer confidence.
19He said many Americans today base their feelings about the economy on what they hear from the politicians they support.
20Cummings said Republicans are likely to speak negatively about the economic performance during Biden's presidency, even as Democrats speak of the economic gains.
21The University of Michigan research shows consumer sentiment among Democrats jumped almost 12 percent in January.
22That is the second-highest increase ever.
23Many Americans say they want to see the government take steps to bring the prices of food, oil and meat back to where they were in 2020 or 2021.
24But economic experts say that is not a good idea.
25The moves that would be required to make that happen would hurt the economy overall.
26Taxes could increase and jobs would be lost.
27David Andolfatto is an economist at the University of Miami.
28He used to work for the Federal Reserve.
29He said the better idea for Americans is to "just move ahead."
30He explained that while the cost of living is higher than it was two or three years ago, many Americans are making more money than they were then.
31"There's no need for (the government) to bring the price level back down.
32It would be too painful," Andolfatto said.
33Claudia Sahm is another former Federal Reserve economist.
34She added that "people are angry" because they cannot afford the cost increases.
35"Can you afford it?" she asked.
36"Not everybody can say yes to that question. But over time, more and more people will be able to say yes."
37I'm Dan Friedell.
1Life is still more costly in the United States than it was about two years ago. But new research shows Americans are starting to feel better about the economy. 2An opinion study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that Americans are increasingly hopeful that the inflation rate will continue to go down. The survey also found that the number of Americans who expect their financial situation to improve within the next year is at its highest since June 2021. 3In addition, the University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers recently reported the largest two-month jump in consumer sentiment since 1991. Consumer sentiment is a measure of how optimistic consumers feel about the economy. 4That optimism is balanced, however, by the fact that most Americans remember paying much less for daily purchases such as fuel and food only two or three years ago. 5Many food items such as bread, milk and chicken are more costly than they were in February 2021. But economists say price increases have slowed significantly in the last year. At the same time, Americans are seeing pay increases higher than the rate of inflation. 6The inflation rate was about 9 percent in June 2022. Today, the rate is 3.4 percent. The U.S. Federal Reserve would like to see the rate at only 2 percent. 7Grace Zwemmer is an analyst at Oxford Economics. She said it took some time for Americans to feel the effects of falling inflation. But, she said, "it appears the good news is finally getting through." 8Political observers wonder if the change in feelings about the economy will help U.S. President Joe Biden's re-election campaign. Will people feel the drop in inflation or will they still remember that prices are much higher than they were two or three years ago? 9Ryan Cummings is an economist who studies how politics affect consumer confidence. He said many Americans today base their feelings about the economy on what they hear from the politicians they support. 10Cummings said Republicans are likely to speak negatively about the economic performance during Biden's presidency, even as Democrats speak of the economic gains. 11The University of Michigan research shows consumer sentiment among Democrats jumped almost 12 percent in January. That is the second-highest increase ever. 12Many Americans say they want to see the government take steps to bring the prices of food, oil and meat back to where they were in 2020 or 2021. But economic experts say that is not a good idea. The moves that would be required to make that happen would hurt the economy overall. Taxes could increase and jobs would be lost. 13David Andolfatto is an economist at the University of Miami. He used to work for the Federal Reserve. He said the better idea for Americans is to "just move ahead." He explained that while the cost of living is higher than it was two or three years ago, many Americans are making more money than they were then. 14"There's no need for (the government) to bring the price level back down. It would be too painful," Andolfatto said. 15Claudia Sahm is another former Federal Reserve economist. She added that "people are angry" because they cannot afford the cost increases. 16"Can you afford it?" she asked. "Not everybody can say yes to that question. But over time, more and more people will be able to say yes." 17I'm Dan Friedell. 18Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based on a report by the Associated Press. 19_________________________________________ 20Words in This Story 21survey -n. public opinion research 22optimistic - adj. feeling good or hopeful 23significantly -adv. a large or great amount 24analyst - n. a person who is knowledgeable about a topic and discusses or studies it 25afford -v. the ability to pay for something 26We want to hear from you. Do you feel better about the economy in your country after a difficult two years?