Michigan voters told CBS they didn't feel the economy was getting better
Michigan voter tells CBS News he's working 'five times harder' now than in 2020
A Michigan voter told CBS News on Wednesday that he was not better off now than in 2020 or 2021 and said he was working "five times harder."
A group of Michigan voters criticized President Biden's economy and said they were working "five times harder" today than they were in 2020 and argued they don't feel inflation easing.
Asked if they believe inflation was getting better, Demar Byas of Pontiac, Michigan, told CBS News that it wasn't.
"I do not feel like it’s getting better. I have a photo booth business, I do some graphic design, so you have to get creative to supplement because it’s not working," he said.
"You're celebrating these numbers, but we are struggling," Byas also told CBS News. "It's no relief in sight, and just say those numbers and to celebrate that, and as I said, stuff becomes a slap in the face."
A group of Michigan voters speaks to CBS News about how they're feeling about the economy. (Screenshot/CBS)
CBS also aired an interview with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, during which she touted that wages have gone up, along with prices, and said, "so people are better off than they were pre-pandemic."
The outlet asked the group of voters, who voted for Biden in 2020, if they felt they were better off now than in Jan. 2021.
"No, I’m not. I mean, that's me being honest. I am working five times harder. When I calculate everything, hours worked to the amount of money bringing in, it’s nowhere near enough as it was in 2020 or 2021," the voter stated.
Another, Elizabeth Nelson, from Ann Arbor, Michigan, told the media outlet she was worried about the job market and the future for her children.
President Joe Biden speaks during a meeting of the National Infrastructure Advisory Council in the Indian Treaty Room of the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2023. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"What I'm reading and hearing about the job market, I'm scared for them. I'm really scared for them," Nelson said. "We're losing some real low rungs on the ladder of economic security across lifetimes."
A Fox News poll released on Wednesday found Trump came out ahead of Biden by just two points in Michigan, 47% to 45%, well within the poll's margin of error.
The poll also found that 6 in 10 voters said the economy would be extremely important in deciding who to vote for.
President Joe Biden delivers remarks to the National Association of Counties Legislative Conference, Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
Two of the voters said they would likely end up voting for Biden anyway, but one said he couldn't see himself voting for Biden or for the current GOP front-runner, Donald Trump.
One voter cited Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war and said he was worried about the thousands of deaths overseas.
Fox News' Dana Blanton contributed to this report.
Hanna Panreck is an associate editor at Fox News.
