Survey: 85% of Americans Concerned About Inflation, Credit Card Interest Up by $3.3B

The financial website WalletHub took the pulse of Americans as the Federal Reserve is poised for a rate change. 

John S. Kiernan, managing editor of the site, wrote about the survey:

Federal Reserve rate hikes can send shockwaves through stock markets and put many people to sleep. But just because the nitty-gritty of the country’s fiscal policy isn’t exciting to most does not mean we’re unaffected.

The cost of existing credit card debt will rise by $3.3 billion this year if the Fed raises its target rate on May 4, as expected. More rate hikes are expected from the Fed throughout 2022, too, further putting on indebted consumers.

So WalletHub took a survey to discover the public’s sentiment on the subject. And while some people may not be up to date on the Federal Reserve and fiscal policy, respondents had opinions.

The key findings of the report include:

• Overall Inflation Concerns: 85 percent of Americans are concerned about inflation right now.

“Consumers were hit hard by rising prices in March as inflation jumped to a level not seen in more than 40 years, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,” Delaney Simchuk, WalletHub analyst, said. “The Consumer Price Index reached the highest point since December 1981 in March.”

• Extra Credit Card Interest: After the anticipated Fed rate hike, people with credit card debt will spend an additional $3.3 billion on interest this year alone.
• Most Worried About Costly Necessities: 9 in 10 Americans are more worried about higher prices for gas and groceries than higher interest rates on their credit cards.

“Credit card interest is avoidable, and rates are usually high to begin with,” Simchuk said. “For example, 132 million people think their credit card rates are too high already, according to a new WalletHub survey. On the other hand, you can’t escape inflation in the prices of daily necessities.”

• Rates Too High Already: 132 million people think their credit card rates are too high already.

• Credit Scores & Rate-Hike Decisions: Around 130 million people say the Fed should consider consumers’ credit scores when making rate-hike decisions.

Breitbart News has reported on Joe Biden’s policies and their impact on inflation, “The Federal Reserve and the Biden administration severely underestimated the powerful inflationary forces built up in the economy from fiscal and monetary stimulus deployed during the pandemic. As a result, inflation hit a forty-year high in March. To bring inflation back under control, the Fed has signaled it will move interest rates sharply higher. Many economists now agree that if the Biden administration had been more restrained on spending and if the Fed had acted earlier, the post-pandemic climb in interest rates would be much gentler.”

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