Just as presidents get credit for steering the U.S. economy, consumers in a University of Illinois survey said the two major political parties can help lower grocery prices — but only if their side is in charge. A minority of respondents in the poll released on Monday said the issue was beyond solution by politicians.
“Surveys have continually shown that … inflation and affordability of prices ranks as a top issue for voters this year,” said three analysts writing on the farmdoc daily blog. “Overall, we find that most respondents thought political parties could help lower food prices.” The responses had a partisan coloration.
“In terms of who respondents thought would be best suited to help lower food prices, we find that most Republicans (74.2 percent) thought only Republicans could lower food prices; similarly, a majority of Democrats (61.8 percent) thought only Democrats could lower food prices,” said analysts Maria Kalaitzandonakes and Jonathan Coppess of the University of Illinois and Brenna Ellison of Purdue University. “Individuals who identified as Independent/Other were most likely to respond that joint efforts by both Republican and Democrats would be required to lower food prices (46.1 percent).”
Only a sliver of self-identified Republicans and Democrats said no political party could lower food prices. Some 29.2 percent of independents said food prices were beyond political control — “still a minority,” the analysts said.
Vice President Kamala Harris has proposed “the first-ever federal ban on price gouging on food.” Former president Donald Trump blames Harris and President Biden for the 2022 wave of inflation and says the remedy is larger domestic energy production, fewer regulations, lower federal spending, and border security.
The online Gardner Food and Agriculture Research Survey of roughly 1,000 consumers, selected to mirror the U.S. population in terms of gender, age, income, and place of residence, was conducted earlier this month. There were 353 Republicans, 351 Democrats, and 301 independent participants.
Food inflation peaked at an annualized rate of 11.4 percent in August 2022. The food inflation rate was 2.2 percent last month, below the overall U.S. inflation rate of 2.9 percent.
Consumers have a lasting memory of high inflation. Last month, consumers surveyed by Purdue’s Center for Food Demand Analysis and Sustainability said food prices were 5.4 percent higher than in July 2023 and they said they expected food prices would rise by 3.2 percent in the year ahead. The USDA forecasts a food price increase of 2 percent in 2025, below the long-term average of 3 percent a year.