Americans' Top Financial Priorities in the 2024 Presidential Election

The economy is consistently voters' number one issue heading into elections and they'll have an important choice to make as the 2024 presidential contest grows closer.

Motley Fool Money surveyed 2,000 Americans in July 2024 to drill deeper into what their top financial priorities are in the presidential election and what they're looking for out of the prospective candidates.

Financial priorities vary by generation, although addressing inflation was the top money issue for the election across all age groups. Views on taxing the rich, Medicare, and changing the minimum wage split along political and generational lines.

Despite concerns over inflation and the future of key programs like Social Security, and the contrasting economic visions from each party, many respondents aren't making any changes to their financial plans ahead of the November contest.

60% see inflation as their top financial priority for the 2024 election

Inflation is the top financial priority among respondents to Motley Fool Money's Financial Priorities in the 2024 Election Survey. It is the only issue to be selected as a top priority by over 50% of each generation.

Social Security, taxes, housing affordability, and the cost of healthcare were other top issues, but their importance varied significantly by generation.

The least important economic issues for respondents are the cost of education, the stock market, and the cost of child care. That said, the cost of education and child care is more important to respondents from younger generations than older ones. There is no notable difference among generations for the importance of the stock market or cost of healthcare.

The top financial priorities in the 2024 election by generation

Financial priorities heading into the election change by generation. Older Americans place more importance on the issues that materially affect them, like Social Security and Medicare. They are less concerned with issues they are likely to be further removed from, like the job market, cost of housing, and cost of education.

Younger generations are less concerned about programs for retirement-age Americans and are more focused on their own immediate needs, like housing affordability, the job market, the cost of education, and taxes.

The only issues that have similar levels of engagement across generations are the cost of healthcare, inflation, and the stock market.

The top financial priorities for Gen Z in the 2024 election

• Most important: Inflation, housing affordability, and taxes
• Least important: Medicare, stock market, cost of child care

Inflation is the number one economic priority for Gen Z heading into the 2024 presidential election, although a slightly lower percentage of respondents from that generation selected it as a top priority compared to other generations.

The cost of housing was the second-most-cited financial priority for Gen Z. That's likely driven by a few factors, including how quickly the cost of housing has grown, stubbornly high interest and mortgage rates, and the fact that just a quarter of Gen Z are homeowners.

The least important issues for Gen Z respondents are a reflection of their age. They are decades from being eligible for Medicare, are similarly far from when they would ideally want to draw on the investments in their 401(k)s, and the majority of the generation are below the median age when Americans have their first child.

The top financial priorities for millennials in the 2024 election

• Most important: Inflation, taxes, and housing affordability
• Least important: Cost of education, cost of child care (although the highest percentage of any generation to pick this one), the stock market.

Aside from inflation, taxes and the cost of housing are the most important financial issues for millennials in the 2024 election.

Forty-six percent of millennial respondents want higher taxes on the rich, compared to 28% who want lower taxes on the wealthy and 19% with no opinion. Millennials may have other tax priorities. For example, polling from Gallup shows the majority of Americans think they pay too much federal income tax and want higher taxes on corporations.

Millennials are in their prime home-buying years, but the cost of housing has skyrocketed. While 55% of millennials are homeowners, per Redfin, 45% of respondents from that generation want a presidential candidate who makes housing more affordable.

The stock market is the least important economic issue for millennials heading into the election. Like Gen Z, millennials are decades from ideally turning to their retirement investment accounts and they own a much smaller share of stocks than older generations.

The cost of child care is the second-least important financial issue for millennials in the election, but 10% of respondents from that generation -- more than any other age group -- selected it as a top issue. Millennials are more likely than other generations to be paying for child care, the cost of which has grown faster than inflation.

The top financial priorities for Gen X in the 2024 election

• Most important: Inflation, social security, and the cost of healthcare
• Least important: Cost of education, stock market, and cost of child care

Social Security and the cost of healthcare are the most-cited top financial priorities in the 2024 election for Gen X respondents, alongside inflation.

The oldest members of Gen X are just a few years from being eligible to take Social Security benefits. They face the prospect of receiving reduced Social Security benefits in 2035, when many of that generation are projected to be in or near retirement. Given that, it's not surprising that Social Security is top of mind for them.

The percentage of Gen X respondents concerned about the cost of healthcare is slightly higher, but generally in line with other generations.

The financial issues Gen X care least about in the context of the election are the cost of education and child care -- which they are unlikely to have to deal with -- and the stock market, which they may feel as though they have little control over.

The top financial priorities for baby boomers in the 2024 election

• Most important: Social security, inflation, and Medicare
• Least important: The stock market, cost of education, and cost of child care

Social Security is a top financial priority in the election for 70% of baby boomers, a much higher share than any other generation. Medicare is another top priority for the generation, as well as inflation.

All but the youngest baby boomers are eligible for Social Security and Medicare and with projections showing that funding for those programs will run out in 2035 and 2036 respectively, it's no wonder they're at the top of their financial priorities in the election.

Two of the least-cited financial priorities for baby boomers going into the election are the cost of education and child care, both of which they're unlikely to be paying for.

That just 6% of baby boomers picked the stock market as a top priority for the 2024 election is notable, given that they're likely relying on their 401(k)s and other retirement investment accounts.

How financial priorities in the election shift based on support for Democrats or Republicans

Financial priorities in the 2024 election change based on whether a respondent believes a Republican or Democrat president would do a better job addressing them.

The top issues for those who think a Democrat president will do a better job delivering on their most important financial priorities in the election are inflation, Social Security, and cost of healthcare.

The top issues for those who think a Republican president will do a better job delivering on their most important financial priorities in the election are inflation, taxes, and Social Security.

The table below shows the top financial priorities among respondents who believe either party will do a better job on their financial priorities.

For example, inflation is a higher priority for those who believe a Republican president will do a better job handling their financial priorities, while Social Security is a higher priority among those more confident in a Democrat president. This suggests that the Democrats' messaging on Social Security resonates more than Republicans', while the GOP's talking points on inflation are more impactful.

The financial steps Americans are taking to prepare for the election

Despite uncertainty over which party will win the presidential election and future economic policy for the country, not making any changes to their finances is the most common course of action respondents are taking to prepare for the election. Forty-one percent are not adjusting their financial plans ahead of the election.

A chunk of respondents are trying to be more financially responsible. Thirty-nine percent are reducing spending and 30% are boosting their savings account balances. Twenty-four percent are trying to pay down debt more quickly.

Most respondents don't think the party's different economic agendas will influence the markets to warrant changes to their investing strategy, or they're not interested in trying to predict how. Just 15% are adjusting their investment strategies in preparation for the election.

Gen Z and millennials are the only generations more likely to reduce spending and increase savings than they are to do nothing, perhaps reflecting heightened anxiety those generations feel about the election. Millennials are more likely to be focused on paying down debt than to do nothing, as well.

Nearly half want higher taxes on the rich

Forty-eight percent of respondents support increasing the amount of taxes the rich have to pay, compared to just 23% who support lower taxes and 18% who don't want taxes on the wealthy to change. Eleven percent of respondents had no opinion.

Those who believe a Democrat president will do a better job on their economic priorities are more likely to want higher taxes on the rich. Sixty-two percent of those respondents want higher taxes on the wealthy, compared to 38% of those who think a Republican president would do a better job when it comes to their financial priorities.

26% are confident in the future of Social Security and Medicare

Just 26% of respondents are confident in the future of Social Security and Medicare. Forty-four percent are not confident and 30% are neutral. The Social Security trust fund is expected to run out in 2035 and Medicare funding is projected to be depleted by 2036.

Older generations are less confident about the future of those two programs, the funding for which is on course to run out while many are relying on them in retirement. That will mean scaled back benefits unless new revenue is found.

President Biden, before dropping out of the presidential election, proposed raising taxes on the wealthy to shore up funding for both programs. Former President Trump has been ambiguous on his plans for Social Security and Medicare. He has at times suggested openness to cutting funding for the programs, only to walk those positions back.

Gen Z are most likely to be neutral about the future of Social Security and Medicare, which signals uncertainty. Millennials are the most confident about the programs, although most of that generation still aren't optimistic.

Most want more Social Security benefits

Eighty percent of respondents want increased Social Security benefits, and that percentage was consistent across generations.

Those responses track with data collected in The Motley Fool's 2024 Social Security Cost-of-Living Survey.

That survey found that 62% of retirees believe the 2023 Social Security Cost of Living increase was insufficient and that 44% are considering returning to work because of low Social Security benefits.

Americans are split on changes to Medicare eligibility

Baby boomers, Trump supporters least likely to support minimum wage bump

President Biden and former President Trump clashed over raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour during the 2020 campaign, with Biden wanting to do so and Trump wanting to leave the issue to the states. The federal minimum wage has remained at $7.25 since 2009. Seventy-one percent of respondents want the minimum wage to be higher.

Younger generations are more in favor of raising the minimum wage further, as are those who think a Democrat president will do a better job on their financial priorities than a Republican president. Still, 59% of the latter group support a higher federal minimum wage.

What polling says about voters' economic priorities in the 2024 election

Polling shows that the economy -- and inflation in particular -- is top of mind for voters. Voters are skeptical of President Biden's ability to get prices down, although it remains to be seen if that view will remain toward Vice President Kamala Harris now that she is the presumptive nominee for the Democratic Party.

A Pew poll from February 2024 found that 73% of Americans believe strengthening the economy should be a top policy priority for the president and Congress. Making Social Security financially sound was selected as a top priority by 60%.

A poll done by the Economist/YouGov in March found inflation and prices to be the top priority selected by the most registered voters. That same month, a poll by Data for Progress also found the economy to be the top issue among likely voters. Within that group, inflation was by far their top economic issue.

A CBS/YouGov poll in March similarly found that the economy is a major factor for 82% of registered voters.

That poll shows voters are skeptical that President Biden can get inflation under control, which may translate into doubts about Vice President Harris' ability to do so as well.

Fifty-five percent of voters predicted prices would go up if President Biden wins re-election, compared to 34% who think prices will go up if former President Trump wins. Confidence in President Biden -- which may spill over to Vice President Harris -- doesn't improve much when just looking at Democrats. Twenty-five percent of respondents in that party think prices will go up if President Biden were re-elected and only 31% believe prices would drop.

Through all the polling, one thing is clear: economic worries, particularly inflation, will steer voter decisions in November.

Sources

• CBS/YouGov (2024). "CBS News poll finds voters remember Trump's economy as good, boosting Trump to national lead over Biden today."
• Data for Progress (2024). "Inflation and the Economy Consistently Rank as Top Issues Among Likely Voters ​​— and Here's Our New Way To Ask Issue Importance."
• The Economist/YouGov (2024). "The Economist/YouGov Poll."
• NBC/Hart Research Associates/Public Opinion Strategies (2024). "NBC News Survey."
• Pew (2024). "Americans' Top Policy Priority for 2024: Strengthening the Economy."

Methodology

Motley Fool Money surveyed 2,000 American adults via Pollfish on July 8, 2024. Results were post-stratified to generate nationally representative data based on age and gender. Pollfish employs organic random device engagement sampling, a method that recruits respondents through a randomized invitation process across various digital platforms. This technique helps to minimize selection bias and ensure a diverse participant pool.