Americans deeply pessimistic about US economy, poll finds - June 6, 2022

President Joe Biden is expected to announce a 24-month tariff exemption on Monday for solar panels made in four Southeast Asian nations. The decision comes in the wake of the Commerce Department’s investigation into whether Chinese solar producers are illegally circumventing solar tariffs through Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. The Biden administration recently announced it will cut the amount it charges companies to build wind and solar projects on federal lands in half. Recent reports have indicated that it is now cheaper to switch from coal to renewable energy, compared to switching from coal to gas. The first weekend of June brought 10 mass shootings, killing at least 12 people and injuring 38 more. In South Carolina and Texas, shots were fired at a high school graduation party while in Kentucky, funeral goers were hit outside a church. The weekend's events deepened the trauma from recent massacres in Buffalo and Uvalde, with gun advocates pushing the U.S. government to take stronger measures to curb gun violence. Roughly 70% of Americans believe enacting new gun control laws is a priority over protecting ownership rights, with 72% saying gun violence is important in determining their votes for the upcoming midterms. Mixed economic data has continued to influence the U.S. dollar, stalling an economic rally that has rippled through businesses and financial markets. American consumers are still spending money at a rapid pace with employers adding jobs, but wage growth and growth in the U.S. housing and service sectors have slowed. Fears about America falling into a recession are dominating political conversations ahead of midterm elections, with a recent poll suggesting Americans are deeply pessimistic about the U.S. economy. Even children and teenagers have voiced concerns surrounding the cost-of-living crisis. The latest COVID-19 wave in the U.S has shifted west, with mountain and coastal states surpassing the Northeast to have the nation’s highest rate of known cases per 100,000 people. Federa