Fifty-three years ago today, on July 14, 1972 (June 4, 1972 in the lunar calendar), inflation replaced the energy crisis in the spotlight. July 14, 1972. Inflation replaced the energy crisis as America's top concern. A recent poll showed that 48% of respondents to the poll ranked high life expenses as the nation's biggest problem, with another 15% citing a lack of trust in the US government and 11% criticizing government corruption or Watergate. Middle-income Americans, who earn between $10,000 and $15,000 a year, express great concern about inflation. The poll found that rising life expenses plagued Americans in the 1970s, but a January poll showed that 46% of people ranked energy as their top issue, overtaking inflation. Many of the 1,509 respondents to the poll said they were deeply puzzled by the sharp rise in prices in recent years.