A recent national poll by Marquette University Law School, released on August 5, reveals that Americans are now far more concerned about high living costs and inflation than geopolitical conflicts. The survey also shows a strong majority of respondents view ongoing U.S. military operations in the Middle East involving Iran as "not worth it" and failing to meet their objectives.

The poll indicates that 35% of U.S. adults rank "living costs and inflation" as the most pressing social issue, topping the list of concerns. Another 15% cite the "overall economic situation" as their primary worry. Since January, inflation and cost-of-living have been the main economic pain point for more than half of all Americans. Currently, only 28% of respondents consider the U.S. economy to be in "good" or "excellent" shape. While the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index year-over-year growth slowed to 3.7% in June from 4.1% in May, the real-life pressure from high prices has not fundamentally eased. The Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates steady at its late July meeting, but internal policymakers are sharply divided on the path ahead, with three regional Fed bank presidents advocating for further rate hikes to curb inflation.

On the issue of the conflict with Iran, as U.S. military operations have exceeded five months, war-weariness and skepticism are spreading further among the American public. The survey shows that only 10% of respondents now rank the U.S.-Iran conflict as their top concern, the lowest level in three months. Meanwhile, 75% of respondents explicitly stated that the military operations in Iran are "not worth the significant cost," an increase from 72% in June. A striking 88% of respondents believe the U.S. has failed to achieve its stated strategic objectives, a sharp rise of 7 percentage points from 81% in June.

Reflecting the public's pessimistic outlook on the conflict, the U.S. military's equipment stockpiles remain under pressure. The Pentagon recently announced new agreements with several defense contractors to urgently expand the production capacity of air defense components, aiming to replenish the nearly depleted interceptor missile stock for the THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) anti-ballistic missile system, used extensively in the Iran operations.

The survey was conducted from July 22 to 29, sampling 1,076 adult respondents nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.2 percentage points.