WHAT THE DATA SAY: 1 in 2 Americans will ‘quiet vacation’ all next week

INFLATION DIVIDES US

We will hear even more about inflation as the presidential campaigns move into high gear - and we should expect America to remain divided on who's to blame, based on our Harris Poll Survey with Axios Vibes.

• 41% of Americans say government spending and policies are most to blame for inflation, while 39% say companies bolstering profits and 20% believe supply chain disruptions are the causes.
• Republicans are twice as likely as Democrats to blame the government for inflation (56% for Republicans versus 26% for Democrats).
• Democrats are twice as likely to blame corporate greed (54% for Democrats versus 23% for Republicans).
• Watch the swing voter: 41% of Independents blame government and business equally.
• DIG DEEPER: Our monthly Harris Poll with the Center for American Political Studies at Harvard University will examine the pulse of the American voter after this week's presidential debate. Register here for the session at noon ET Monday, July 1.

JULY 4 'QUIET VACATIONING'

The U.S. Independence Day fireworks could be loud next week, yet many working Americans will be "quiet vacationing," according to our Harris Poll research with Inc.

• Last month, we coined the phrase "quiet vacationing " to describe employees scheduling off-hours without officially taking time off.
• 48% of American workers tend to "quiet vacation" during the Fourth of July holiday week - especially Gen Z and Millennials (56%).
• 10% of American workers say their employer is closed the entire week.
• 46% believe working during Independence Day week should be taboo in American culture.
• 62% of Gen Z and Millennial workers would make tradeoffs for their workplace to be closed the week of Independence Day, such as docking salary (33%), forgoing certain company perks/benefits (27%) or a portion of bonuses (19%).

1 IN 3 SAY COLLEGE NOT WORTH THE DEBT

A third of student loan borrowers say college was not worth the debt, according to our Harris Poll survey with NerdWallet.

• 57% of Americans think four-year college is worth the cost, while 30% say it is not.
• 36% regret the money they borrowed in student loans.
• 20% borrowed more than they needed just because it was offered.
• 19% keep their student loan debt a secret from their significant other.
• 19% don't know their current student loan balance.
• 26% of Americans with student loans do not think they ever will completely pay their student loans off.
• 10% think it will take them 20 or more years.

BEST AGE TO GIVE KIDS SMARTPHONES?

When should parents give children their first smartphone? The Harris Poll surveyed parents of children ages 6 to 17 to find out.

• 80% of parents say their child has a phone.
• On average, the first phone was given at age 12 - with 41% of parents giving the first phone between 6^th and 8^th.
• Parents' top motivations for giving children a smartphone include: safety/security (62%) and ability to communicate with parents when not together (59%).
• The downside: Parents are noticing that their child is distracted by their phone (48%), reading less (28%) and are less physically active (27%).
• 49% wish they had waited until their child was older, because their child is staying up too late (43%), exposed to too much mature content (41%) or losing interest in other things (39%).
• Despite these negatives, parents overwhelmingly feel that the benefits of their child having a smartphone outweigh the risks. They find their children to be more communicative about their whereabouts (44%) and have more independence (43%).
• At the same time, 84% worry about the effect of social media on the mental health of today's young people, 88% of parents think young people are too dependent on technology, and 68% believe that smartphones should not be allowed in school.

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