Significant majorities of Americans believe the country is headed in the wrong direction and that American democracy is in danger, according to a new poll from NBC News.

Why it matters: Having recently completed his first year in office, President Biden is facing a difficult reality of an ongoing pandemic, a stalled agenda and the low polling numbers that result.

The big picture: 72% of Americans polled believe the country is headed in the "wrong direction."

60% of Americans believe that their family income is falling behind the cost of living, according to the poll. Only 30% felt they're keeping up and 7% felt that their incomes are increasing faster than the cost of living.
70% of respondents said that the nation cannot come together and that its partisan divisions will continue to grow.
76% of Americans polled said they felt that American democracy is under threat.

The bottom line: Asked to describe the state of the country, the most popular responses were "downhill,” “divisive,” “negative,” “struggling,” “lost” and “bad," per NBC News.

(I would say the country has been going in the wrong direction, but not because Biden isn't trying, but because republicans are obstructing his efforts at every turn, and the conservative Supreme Court is going to turn back the clock on many issues.)