Granite State Times

Government spending is the top concern of New Hampshire voters, a new poll reveals, prompting critics of President Joe Biden's administration to warn that the infusion of cash could soon lead to inflation and other serious economic problems.

As fears over COVID-19 recede, New Hampshire voters are expressing concern about the amount of the money flowing in from the federal government and its effect on the overall economy.

Only 13% of respondents ranked COVID-19 as their top concern, according to a New Hampshire Institute of Politics/Saint Anselm College poll. The poll was taken between June 9 and 11, surveying cell phone users randomly drawn from a sample of registered voters.

Biden enjoys high approval numbers for his handling of the pandemic, particularly the vaccination rollout.

But government spending is the top concern of 22% of voters, followed by illegal immigration and the cost of health care at 20%, climate change at 18% and foreign aggression at 8%.

"Although government spending was cited by the most voters as their top concern, the cost of health care scored the highest by average," the authors, Neil Levesque, the institute's executive director, and Tauna Sisco, department of sociology chair, wrote. "This is an issue that has been perennially near the top of the list of voters’ concerns and one that has been a traditional area of strength for the Democratic Party."

Large numbers of voters are worried about "structural economic issues," with inflation a concern for 83%, while 77% expressed concern for the national debt. Only 28% of voters polled said they approve of the Democrats’ handling of the economy.

Of six areas tested, a majority of respondents rated Biden’s handling of only one issue as "excellent" or "good": COVID-19.

A majority of respondents rated Biden’s handling of the remainder of the issues as "fair" or "poor," including 55% on his handling of environmental issues; 57% on race, national security and foreign affairs; 58% on the economy; and 60% on his handling of energy costs.

Critics believe federally funded programs like the American Rescue Plan could lead to inflation and other negative economic impacts.

"I don’t think a single U.S. senator actually believes that the booming U.S. economy’s most pressing need is an infusion of $1 trillion in taxpayer money spent on a random wish list of politicians’ pet projects," Andrew Cline, president of the Concord-based Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy, told the Granite State Times.

The sole purpose "is to give politicians something they can point to when they falsely claim during the next election that they deserve credit for the economic expansion that was already underway when the bill was passed," Cline said. "Meanwhile, labor and supply shortages, along with growing inflation, are genuine economic problems, yet this spending proposal would make them all worse.”

Approval ratings for New Hampshire politicians have also taken a hit, with U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) down four points to 47%, U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D) down a similar amount to 43%, U.S. Rep. Chris Pappas (D-Manchester) down three to 42% and U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster (D-Hopkinton) down five to 43%.