A waitress wears a face mask while serving at Langer’s Delicatessen-Restaurant in Los Angeles on June 15.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Normal is not easily defined.
The past 15 months, though, have certainly been anything but.
Americans are starting to believe a “sense of normal” is approaching fairly soon, however, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist survey. The poll also found that with the coronavirus receding in this country, mask-wearing is declining and Americans are going out more. But they remain cautious about being in large crowds.
As the country continues to open up, more focus turns to the economy, which cratered during the beginning of the pandemic last year. And Americans are split by race, gender and politics on whether President Biden’s ambitious policies are helping or not.
Race, gender, party divides on Biden and the economy
Three months ago, in a similar survey, 49% of adults said the president’s policies were strengthening the economy, while 44% said they were weakening it.
Now, that’s declined a net of 6 points, as 44% of respondents in the new poll say Biden’s policies have strengthened the economy and 45% say the opposite. The percentage who were unsure also jumped 4 points. It’s all a little bit of a warning sign for Biden, as he pushes for two large — and expensive — spending packages.
There are significant splits by race and gender:
Just 39% of whites said Biden’s policies have strengthened the economy, but 52% of people of color say they have.
54% of independent men say his policies have weakened the economy, while 56% of independent women say they’ve strengthened it.
45% of white male college grads say Biden has strengthened the economy, but a significantly higher 64% of white women with college degrees said so.
Inflation vs. wages by party
A quarter of Americans rank inflation as the U.S. economy’s top concern. That’s followed by wages, unemployment, housing costs, labor shortages, gas prices and interest rates.
But there’s a sharp political divide on the question. Republicans and independents rank inflation as their top concern, while for Democrats, it was wages. Just 4% of Republicans said wages were their top concern.
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Return to “normal”
Americans are growing increasingly optimistic about when life will return to a “sense of normal,” as the survey labels it.
In April, three-quarters of Americans said they believe it will take six months or more. Now, it’s just half. About a quarter (27%) say it will be less than six months, up from 15% two months ago.
People are also growing more comfortable doing certain things, saying they’re:
dining out at restaurants (78%) and
visiting unvaccinated friends and family (75%).
But they are not as comfortable doing others:
almost 7-in-10 are not going out to bars;
about two-thirds are not attending live concerts or sporting events (65%);
and a majority have also not resumed going to in-person religious services (54%).
COVID-19 vaccines and going back to work
While half say they are concerned about another coronavirus surge, almost 9-in-10 U.S. adults with jobs say they are at least somewhat comfortable returning to work.
Notably, a majority (57%) of those with jobs do not believe employers should require COVID-19 vaccines as a condition to return to in-person work.
More than a quarter of Americans say they will not get vaccinated. The most resistant to getting vaccinated continue to be supporters of former President Donald Trump. Half of them say they won’t get the shot, the highest of any group surveyed. Trump has touted the vaccine and got it himself.
Since Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines came out, noting that Americans who have been vaccinated can largely set masks aside, there’s been a double-digit decline in those saying they wear a mask even when it’s not required.
There’s also been a double-digit increase in those saying they generally do not wear a mask. In May, 49% said they wore masks even when it was not required. Now, that’s just 36%.
One-in-five said they generally do not wear masks. Two months ago, it was less than one-in-10.
Affordability, not coronavirus, limiting vacations
Speaking of getting back to normal, a majority of Americans say they plan to take a vacation this summer.
But of the significant minority (45%) who say they aren’t taking one, almost three times as many cited affordability (35%) as the main reason for not going, as opposed to concerns about COVID-19 (12%).
Methodology: The poll of 1,115 U.S. adults was conducted using live telephone interviewers from June 22 through June 29. Survey questions were available in English or Spanish. The full sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.7 percentage points, with larger margins of error for smaller group subsets.
FREDERICTON – New Brunswick‘s finance minister says the province recorded a surplus of $500.8 million for the fiscal year that ended in March.
Ernie Steeves says the amount — more than 10 times higher than the province’s original $40.3-million budget projection for the 2023-24 fiscal year — was largely the result of a strong economy and population growth.
The report of a big surplus comes as the province prepares for an election campaign, which will officially start on Thursday and end with a vote on Oct. 21.
Steeves says growth of the surplus was fed by revenue from the Harmonized Sales Tax and federal money, especially for health-care funding.
Progressive Conservative Premier Blaine Higgs has promised to reduce the HST by two percentage points to 13 per cent if the party is elected to govern next month.
Meanwhile, the province’s net debt, according to the audited consolidated financial statements, has dropped from $12.3 billion in 2022-23 to $11.8 billion in the most recent fiscal year.
Liberal critic René Legacy says having a stronger balance sheet does not eliminate issues in health care, housing and education.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland says the government is making some changes to mortgage rules to help more Canadians to purchase their first home.
She says the changes will come into force in December and better reflect the housing market.
The price cap for insured mortgages will be boosted for the first time since 2012, moving to $1.5 million from $1 million, to allow more people to qualify for a mortgage with less than a 20 per cent down payment.
The government will also expand its 30-year mortgage amortization to include first-time homebuyers buying any type of home, as well as anybody buying a newly built home.
On Aug. 1 eligibility for the 30-year amortization was changed to include first-time buyers purchasing a newly-built home.
Justice Minister Arif Virani is also releasing drafts for a bill of rights for renters as well as one for homebuyers, both of which the government promised five months ago.
Virani says the government intends to work with provinces to prevent practices like renovictions, where landowners evict tenants and make minimal renovations and then seek higher rents.
The government touts today’s announced measures as the “boldest mortgage reforms in decades,” and it comes after a year of criticism over high housing costs.
The Liberals have been slumping in the polls for months, including among younger adults who say not being able to afford a house is one of their key concerns.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
OTTAWA – Statistics Canada says manufacturing sales rose 1.4 per cent to $71 billion in July, helped by higher sales in the petroleum and coal and chemical product subsectors.
The increase followed a 1.7 per cent decrease in June.
The agency says sales in the petroleum and coal product subsector gained 6.7 per cent to total $8.6 billion in July as most refineries sold more, helped by higher prices and demand.
Chemical product sales rose 5.3 per cent to $5.6 billion in July, boosted by increased sales of pharmaceutical and medicine products.
Sales of wood products fell 4.8 per cent for the month to $2.9 billion, the lowest level since May 2023.
In constant dollar terms, overall manufacturing sales rose 0.9 per cent in July.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 16, 2024.
