Battleground Reality: Anxiety in Arizona

Citizens of the Grand Canyon State lose hope in the American Dream

By any metric, Americans are in a sour mood – and the latest surveys show that they overwhelmingly blame Joe Biden for their current woes, especially in the key battleground states that decide national elections.

Specifically, my organization, the League of American Workers, commissioned a poll of Arizona voters conducted by NorthStar Opinion Research, finding that only 18% of Arizona voters believe that the American Dream is “still attainable.” A staggering 78% of Arizonans now believe that the American Dream is “out of reach.”

That level of despondency, in any region of America, should give great pause and compel introspection about what afflicts our society -- and what remedies can work as solutions. But this kind of pervasive hopelessness in Arizona stings particularly bitterly.

Why?

Because Arizona has consistently represented the best spirit of the American West as a place marked by optimism, growth, and the boundless potential of the American frontier. After all, Arizona has only been an American state for 111 years, the third latest state to join the Union.

So how did this young land, a place previously cherished for unbridled optimism, fall into a malaise? Moreover, what does this Arizona quagmire suggest for America’s national future, including the 2024 election cycle?

In Arizona, like most of America, economic anxiety drives most of the current pessimism. Consistent with our previous four-state battleground polling, 77% of Arizonans report that America is on the “wrong track” and most of them point to the economy as the most pressing issue for their families, with immigration next in line, and national security placing third.

On that foremost issue of the economy, 60% of Arizonans disapprove of Joe Biden’s performance. The battleground state supermajority that blames Biden for this economic stagnation extends beyond partisanship, as a scant 13% of Independents give him “strong approval” marks vs. 48% reporting “strong disapproval” on the economy.

It is not surprising that Arizonans worry about the ravages of inflation unleashed since Biden took office. After all, the Phoenix metro area led all major cities in America in price surges last year, hitting an astounding “worst-in-America” peak of 13% consumer price growth, levels unseen since the early 1980s.

Just weeks ago, the Arizona Common Sense Institute calculated that, under Biden, the typical Arizona household now spends “a combined $23,768 more on food, housing, transportation, medical care, and other goods and services to buy the same stuff as they were buying three years ago.”

How many households can afford to just add tens of thousands of dollars in new expenses to their budgets, just to maintain the same quality of life?

Well, not many, tragically.

Consequently, evictions in the Phoenix area just soared to an all-time record, surpassing even the worst periods of the 2008-09 housing crisis. Here is the spike in Arizona evictions in chart form:

Source: Arizona Family, CBS affiliate

In Arizona and elsewhere, regular citizens firmly reject the ridiculous myth pushed by the White House and the compliant corporate media that “Bidenomics” has been some sort of success. In fact, housing across America has never been less affordable, according to Goldman Sachs data -- and that crisis hits Arizona especially hard. According to the National Association of Homebuilders, only 30% of the homes in the Phoenix area are affordable for median earners right now, and only 38% of the homes in Tucson.

Importantly, Arizona voters clearly blame Biden for worsening their household budget woes. For instance, regarding housing costs, our survey found that a minuscule 2% of Arizonans believe Biden’s policies have lowered costs, while 57% believe his actions have raised the price of shelter.

Given these harsh realities, no wonder Americans across the republic endure persistent worry. No wonder, that even the formerly optimistic citizens of the desert Southwest express apprehension instead of hope.

But within this crisis of confidence lies opportunity for activists and candidates with clear agendas of American renewal – political, economic, and cultural. Arizona, along with a handful of other states, will decide America’s national direction into 2024.

The last two presidential elections in Arizona were decided by fewer than 100,000 votes, combined. As such, addressing the very valid concerns of this critical swing state will transcend nationally. Revive Arizona…and save America.