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Poll: Inflation is the Top Financial Concern for Americans

Published

12 months ago

on

inflation top financial concern

The Briefing

  • Inflation has quickly become the top financial concern for American families
  • Compared to 2021, far fewer Americans believe their financial situation is improving

Poll: Inflation is the Top Financial Concern for Americans

A recent survey by Gallup discovered that inflation has become the top financial concern for Americans, surpassing other issues like low wages and housing costs.

While this result may not be too surprising, it is interesting to see how today’s concerns compare to that of previous years. For reference, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) has grown 8.3% between April 2021 and April 2022, representing a near 40-year high.

Poll Results

Results were collected in April 2022 and are based on the responses of over 1,000 U.S. adults. In this case, the specific question was: What is the most important financial problem facing your family today?

TrendApril 2022April 2021April 2020April 2019
Inflation32%8%3%6%
Low wages11%10%11%11%
Gas prices10%1%----
Housing costs8%9%9%8%
Health care costs7%8%8%17%

Percentage of respondents. Includes the top five categories, based on April 2022 results.

Based on these results, we can see that inflation began to gain momentum in early 2021. Rising gas prices, which are a significant contributor to overall inflation, also popped up in 2021.

Implications

Significantly fewer Americans feel confident about their financial situation due to the rising cost of living. This was captured in the same Gallup survey referenced above.

Income Group20222021Percentage point decrease
Upper 50%28%-22
Middle48%39%-9
Lower63%45%-18

Percentage of respondents who say their personal financial situation is improving.

The largest decreases were seen among the upper and lower income groups.

Upper income families tend to own more financial assets like stocks and bonds. An inflationary environment, especially when combined with rising interest rates, can eat away at the returns generated by these assets, which could explain this cohort’s drop in optimism.

Lower income families, on the other hand, are more likely to be struggling already. In fact, a 2017 report found that six in 10 Americans don’t have $500 in savings. With this in mind, it’s easy to see how an increase in the price of food or gas could cause worry.

Where does this data come from?
Source: Gallup
Notes: Interviews conducted April 1-19, 2022, with a random sample of 1,018 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. For results based on the total sample of national adults, the margin of sampling error is ±4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.

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Mapped: 10 Countries With The Lowest Internet Adoption Rates

Just 63% of the world has internet access. Here are the countries with the lowest rates of internet adoption.

Published

2 days ago

on

May 31, 2023

By

The Briefing

  • Only 63.1% of the world’s population has access to the internet, dropping to 45.8%, in rural communities.
  • Starlink, a SpaceX Company, uses a constellation of low-orbit satellites to provide the world with high-speed internet access. 

10 Countries With The Lowest Internet Adoption Rates

Did you know that despite all of the latest technological advancements, a whopping 3 billion people still have no access to the internet?

In this infographic sponsored by Scottish Mortgage, we take a look at countries with some of the lowest internet adoption rates around the globe and explore how Starlink—the satellite internet constellation owned by SpaceX—is well-positioned to fill the gaps in the market.

Dead Zones in Rural Communities

A nation’s internet adoption rate is partially driven by the number of rural residents. Here is a table using data from the World Bank (2021) showing the 10 countries with the lowest internet adoption rates:

RankNationRegion
2021 Internet Adoption Rate (%)
1🇧🇮 Burundi Africa5.8%
2🇺🇬 UgandaAfrica10.3%
3🇨🇫 Central African RepublicAfrica10.6%
4🇪🇹 EthiopiaAfrica16.7%
5🇲🇿 MozambiqueAfrica17.4%
6🇹🇩 ChadAfrica17.9%
7🇲🇬 MadagascarAfrica19.8%
8🇵🇰 PakistanSouth Asia21.0%
9🇿🇲 ZambiaAfrica21.2%
10🇧🇫 Burkina FasoAfrica21.6%

Most countries at the lower end of the adoption rate scale have high rural populations. For example, 60% of Pakistan’s population lives in rural communities.

A viable solution is necessary to address this issue and achieve the UN’s objective of providing safe and affordable internet access to all by 2030.

Unlike conventional internet providers who rely on hundreds of miles of cabling, one company uses a constellation of low-orbit satellites to provide the world with high-speed internet access. 

Enter Starlink

Starlink’s service now covers much of the world’s lowest internet adopters. The company claims the service will become available in Zambia, Chad, Mozambique, and Burundi later in 2023. The company also plans to launch in Burkina Faso and Uganda in 2024.

Even though it has one of the highest adoption rates, the U.S. is not currently fully covered by Starlink. This is planned to change by the end of 2023 when Starlink will complete its U.S. rollout. Similarly, Starlink recently received its license to operate in South Korea making the satellite internet service available in over 50 countries. 

Providing the World with Internet

Starlinks’ ambition to “end mobile dead zones” has driven much of their work, growing their subscriber base from 10,000 when first launched in 2021, to over a million by the end of 2022.

As one of Scottish Mortgage’s pioneers of digitisation, Starlink, a subsidiary of SpaceX, is well-positioned to provide high-speed internet services in nearly every country with a low internet adoption rate. 

Want to invest in transformative companies like SpaceX? Discover Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust, a portfolio of some of the world’s most exciting growth companies.

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