Taking on junk fees is popular. But can it win Biden more voters?

Concert tickets, Uber Eats, car dealerships, resorts and airline tickets all have one thing in common: extra fees that pop up in the purchasing process.

The White House started drawing attention to these costs it calls "junk fees" in 2022, and on Thursday, President Biden is expected to shine a spotlight on junk fees for a second year in a row in his State of the Union address.

The speech is one of the most watched addresses the president gives. That means it's a key moment for Biden to try to reach voters on the issue of the economy, where he has struggled with voter skepticism.

Recent polls show people feel better about the economy now than they did a few months ago, but they're not giving Biden the credit for it. Voters also perceive the economy was better under former President Donald Trump.

The White House hopes taking on junk fees will help win over voters.

"These things, they make people mad," an administration official told NPR. The official was not authorized to speak publicly ahead of the speech. "We're really able to strike a chord with something that people already feel, but they weren't necessarily thinking that anyone could do anything about it."

"[Biden's] not saying junk fees are bad — period," the official said. "He's using it to tell the broader story about competition and the need to make sure there's a fair and level playing field for businesses, to make sure that people understand what they're getting upfront."

A Taylor Swift ticket snafu raised the profile of junk fees

The White House says there has been progress since Biden talked about junk fees in his State of the Union address last year.

Last June, the White House convened private companies like Ticketmaster and Live Nation for an event where