More Americans feel gas price pain

CNN/Opinion Research poll finds high prices causing hardship for three quarters of Americans.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — The high price of gas is taking a financial toll on an increasing number of American households, according to a poll released Friday.

A CNN/Opinion Research poll found that 75% of respondents said the price at the pump is a “financial hardship.” That finding was up from 60% in late April and 69% in April 2006.


The poll, which has a margin of error of 4.5%, was conducted July 27-29 and involved more than 500 respondents.

In the poll, 27% said high petroleum prices were causing a “severe hardship” on their standards of living. Another 48% said gas prices caused a “moderate hardship.”

Families with middle and lower incomes are feeling the sting more acutely, as rising gas and food prices spill into the core inflation rate, according to Heidi Shierholz, an economist at Washington, D.C.’s Economic Policy Institute, considered a liberal research firm.

CNN