How worried are Americans about the debt ceiling?

Starters

May 19

Written By Jonathan Milner

Critical Analysis

According to the data from the visual above, what do Americans think is most likely to occur if the U.S. government defaults on its debts?
What percent of Americans worry there will be widespread job losses across the country if the U.S. government defaults on its debts?
The debt limit, or debt ceiling, is a restriction on how much the federal government can borrow to pay its bills and allocate funds for future investments. When Congress appropriates or directs government money to be spent, the government is obligated to pay those funds, creating a bill it must pay. This bill, also known as the national debt [1], is the amount of money the federal government has already borrowed in the past. The debt ceiling is currently set at $31.46 trillion. On May 1, 2023, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen informed Congress that the government could run out of cash as early of June 1 if the debt ceiling is not raised or suspended in time. Based on the visual above, describe how Americans feel about the possible U.S. government defaults on its debts?
With the potential “X-date” — when the U.S. government becomes unable to pay its bills — arriving as soon as June 1, lawmakers are facing increased concern from voters and investors worried about the political quagmire that has Republicans holding firm that they will not approve an increase to the federal government’s borrowing limit without trillions in cuts to federal spending. How do you feel about the possibility of the U.S;. reaching the debt ceiling?
Many economists and budget experts predict that a default would trigger significant interest rate increases, a fall in the stock market, instability throughout the financial system, and the weakening of the dollar’s leading role in the global economy. Still the people don’t believe them, at least not yet. When a recent Economist/YouGov survey asked voters whether a failure to raise the debt ceiling followed by a default on the national debt would be a crisis, only 37% answered in the affirmative. Forty percent thought it would be a major problem but not a crisis, and the rest regarded this prospect as at most a minor problem. Why do you think experts and Americans have such a different view of the importance of the debt crisis?
Based on your knowledge of American politics would you say that American voters tend to trust their gut (general feelings about things that might not be based on any information or evidence) or their brain (what smart experts say about a topic they have been studying for years)?
Americans seem confused about what the debt ceiling is. A recent CBS News poll informed voters that “the debt ceiling is the legal limit the federal government can borrow to pay its current debts” and then asked whether Congress should raise the ceiling. Forty-six percent said that Congress should do so; more (54%) said that it should not. But when informed failing to raise the ceiling could result in the U.S. defaulting on its current debt, only 30% continued to say that the ceiling should not be increased. Why do you think Americans are so confused?
Looming over these contradictory statistics is a basic fact about American politics: since the 1932 election, voters have held the president responsible for overall economic conditions. If not raising the debt ceiling brings about the catastrophe that many experts fear, Joe Biden is likely to pay a price, even if his Republican challenger advocated an inflexible position that contributed to the default. Do you think Biden will bend and negotiate with the Republicans?
Based on your knowledge of American politics explain whether most politicians try to confuse the American people or tell them the truth?
Explain whether the U.S. government will default on their debt?