Old North News

Battleground state voters, including those in North Carolina, have expressed concerns about rising housing costs and income erosion under 'Bidenomics,' according to a recent poll by the League of American Workers. The survey highlighted a lack of voter confidence in President Biden's handling of the economy and revealed an overwhelming dissatisfaction in the country's direction among voters in key swing states such as Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. Economic issues topped the list of concerns for those polled. Among these economic worries, 39% cited wage and income erosion and 29% pointed to rising housing costs.

A column by Steve Cortes at Real Clear Politics shed further light on these results. Cortes, chairman and founder of the League of American Workers noted that 77% of poll respondents believe that the country is heading down the wrong track. This lack of confidence is primarily attributed to disapproval over President Biden's handling of the economy. The dismal approval ratings reflected this sentiment with only 9% registering "strong approval," whereas nearly half registered "strong disapproval."

The poll revealed that economic issues and inflation held paramount importance for voters with 23% naming them initially. The specific impacts from inflation that troubled respondents most were income erosion (39%) and high housing prices (29%). The poll was conducted by North Star Research across four states, sampling 800 registered voters.

"While the President may be selling 'Bidenomics', these results indicate that Battleground state voters aren't buying," said Jon McHenry, a partner with North Star who conducted the survey.

Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) confirms increasing nationwide concern over housing cost rises; indicating a shelter index increase by 7.2 percent from Sept. 2022 to Sep. 2023, with the rent index seeing a 7.4 percent rise.

The Carolina Journal in Jun. 2023 reported nearly half of North Carolina renters as cost-burdened, spending over 30 percent of their monthly income on rent. A QuoteWizard by Lending Tree analysis found an average cost for renting a one-bedroom apartment in North Carolina at $1,092, marking a 28-percent increase since 2020. In Charlotte specifically, the same rental saw an average cost of $1,314 - a 24-percent jump from 2020 prices.

Mortgage rates have also increased with NerdWallet reporting an average APR of 7.659 percent on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in North Carolina as of Oct. 31.

Zillow's Home Values Index revealed that typical home values in North Carolina reached $321,505 as of Sep. 30 - a significant jump of approximately 65% since Oct. 2018. In contrast, Charlotte's typical home value stood even higher at $386,502 – about an impressive 66% increase from values three years ago and around eleven percent above the U.S.'s typical home value.

The BLS confirmed decreasing incomes among Americans; real average weekly earnings for all employees showed a decrease between Aug. and Sept. last year and also between Sep. 2022 and Sep. 2023.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, real pre-tax median household income in the United States in 2022 was $74,530, representing a 2.3% decrease from the 2021 estimate of $76,330. The decrease in real median income after taxes from 2021 to 2022 was more significant, declining by 8.8%. Per the Bureau, this decrease was largely due to American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) tax policies expiring, and the lowest-income households felt the greatest negative impact on their post-tax household incomes.

Interestingly, this trend seems amplified within North Carolina where Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis' FRED database recorded the state's median pre-tax household income for 2022 at $65,070 – a significant 14.5 percent lower than the national median.