Scripps News: The cost of living crisis isn’t letting up, poll finds

September 23. 2026

Scripps News interviewed Executive Director Noreen Farrell about the results of Equal Rights Advocates Action Fund’s 2026 poll of likely voters asking about affordability, savings, and other factors that are important to them in upcoming elections.

Here are some highlights from the interview. Watch the full segment here.

“What was interesting about this poll is that voters are actually looking at ways that our government can be putting more money in their pockets so they can make decisions. So really compelling data on the call for higher wages, for equal pay and paid leave. Money that’s actually not just about lowering costs, but making sure that they’re earning more.”

“According to the people we polled, which is a national poll, the blame is being spread all around, but they’re less focused at what the cause is than who is going to deliver on the promise to create affordability for them moving forward. …They are looking for candidates that have concrete proposals, not just to lower costs, but to put money in their pockets, and who are really ready and able and excited to put those plans to action the first 100 days in their office.”

“I think what we’re seeing is the term ‘affordability’ being slapped on a lot of campaigns, a lot of congressional conversations. But you’re right, there is a real lack of a specific plan. And I think if any of our legislators need a plan, it is in the details of this poll. It is very clear policies that have passed in states across the country—paid leave, raising the minimum wage, equal pay for equal work—these are very concrete policy agendas that I think voters have been accustomed to, they’ve been culturized to, they understand. And they’re demanding very specific policies. So I don’t think the generality of saying ‘we’re for affordability’ is going to cut it both at the polls in November and beyond.”

“The question, I think, is what is the political muscle of Congress in this moment to take on such a big topic…and what we saw from this poll is that Congress might also think about quicker wins that build up the bipartisan muscle that we haven’t seen in existence for the past decade of really popular, quicker wins: paid sick days, equal pay, higher wages, raising the wage. These might be ways to actually help build the muscle back: a bipartisan collaboration in Congress so we can get to those really big, massive policy changes…”

Watch the full interview. Learn more about the results of our poll.