Americans downbeat on inflation, the future as new year nears

• A record 65% say the USA has gotten off on the wrong track.
• By 51%-38%, voters say House GOP investigations into Biden are politically motivated.
• “I’m hopeful, but I’m also doubtful,” says a California woman who sees “uncertainty” ahead.

Americans are braced for an unhappy new year.

Two-thirds of respondents in a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll say the country has gotten off on the wrong track, and they express little confidence in either political party or any branch of government to effectively address the challenges they see ahead.

Their priority for President Joe Biden and the new Congress in 2023 is clear: inflation and the economy, chosen as the No. 1 or No. 2 issue by 54% of those surveyed. That’s double the number for any other issue.

“I’m hopeful, but I’m also doubtful,” said Janet Brown, a Republican who works as a mortgage broker in Petaluma, California. Peter Grant, a Democrat who owns a small marine business in Waldoboro, Maine, described himself as “weary.”