Ryan Streeter
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The new Post-Pew poll on Americans view of the national debt and default hasn't gotten enough coverage given how significant as it is.
By a serious margin, Americans are more worried about the size of the debt than the risk of default. 48% say their greater concern is that raising the debt limit will increase government spending, compared to 35% who say defaulting on the debt and hurting the economy is their greater concern (see the chart below).
The margin is wider among Republicans, the reverse of the national average among Democrats, and most importantly, among Independents the margin is nearly identical to the national average. Consistently, independent voters track with the GOP on matters of debt and spending.
Some might say that the fact that half of the respondents admitted (see results) to not understanding the full implication of default makes the results unimportant. But that wouldn't be the point. The point is straightforward: a majority of Americans are frightened about the prospect of multi-trillion dollar increases in spending. Period.
While the Dems will fight the GOP demand that there be a dollar-for-dollar reduction in spending for every dollar the ceiling is raised, the message is hopefully sinking in.
Here's the nugget buried in the Post article.
After coming out of negotiations on the topic, Joe Biden is quoted as saying, "I think we’re in a position where we’ll be able to get to well above $1 trillion [in cuts] pretty quick."
Pretty quick?
Well, if you can find that amount quickly, it seems like meeting the Republicans' demands shouldn't be too hard.
What is your greater concern?
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