Old North News

When the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the nation, lockdowns and stimulus checks helped many U.S. households build up extra savings.

But as the pandemic eased and lockdowns were lifted, inflation set in, causing prices to soar and forcing Americans to tap into those pandemic savings to keep up with rising costs. And if June polls are any indication, they are placing the blame on President Joe Biden. 

Citing data from Moody’s Analytics, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that U.S. households amassed $2.7 trillion in savings from the start of the pandemic to the end of last year, likely the result of lockdowns that left people with nowhere to spend money and increased incomes from a trio of stimulus payments. Just six months later, inflation may be cutting into those savings, with prices increasing 1.2% in the South Region in May. 

"The personal saving rate, a measure of how much money people have left over after spending and taxes, reached 5.4% in May," the Journal said in its report. That is below the average of the last 10 years and well off the 34% mark in April 2020 during the first months of the pandemic, data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) showed.

Additionally, the country’s rate of inflation recently reached a mark not seen in four decades, the Journal said. With wage gains dropping off, American consumers have been forced to turn to their savings accounts to meet those rising expenses. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) last month released 12-month data on the Consumer Price Index for the year-long period ending in May. The data showed an 8.6% increase in prices, up 0.3% over the previous month and a 40-year high, driven mostly by rising prices in food, shelter and gasoline. The information for June will be released in the coming weeks. 

Amid inflation, Americans have used an estimated $114 billion of their pandemic savings to date; the Journal report said, again citing Moody’s Analytics data. In June, Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan, said in the report that consumers still have from six to nine months of savings to fall back on. 

Because of the rapidly rising prices, Americans are looking for a scapegoat, and the blame is being heaped on Biden. A June Ipsos report noted that only 37% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of the economic recovery. That figure has been steady in recent months, but it is down 3% from April and 16% from a year ago.  

The Ipsos survey also found that just 28% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of inflation, and 27% approve of his efforts on gasoline prices. Among Democrats, the survey showed 56% approve of his handling of inflation, while 51% approve of his handling of gas prices.  

Driven by rising prices for fuel, shelter and food, Southern states, including North Carolina, have experienced an average increase of 1.2% in May; BLS data showed. Over the past 12 months, the Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers rose 9.2% in the region.