Poll: 3 in 4 Say Deficit a Very Serious Problem
CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.
Washington is putting new emphasis on reducing the deficit, and a new CBS News poll suggests most Americans approve.
As many as 73 percent of Americans say the budget deficit is a very serious problem for the country right now, the poll shows -- an increase of 21 points since 2005. Another one in five describes the budget deficit as somewhat serious. Just 4 percent of Americans say the deficit is not a serious problem.
Just this week, President Obama's bipartisan deficit commission released a comprehensive yet controversial plan to reduce the deficit by about $4 trillion over 10 years. The plan failed to garner the 14 votes needed from the 18-member commission in order to assure that Congress will consider the plan. However, the commission's leaders said they were satisfied that they brought awareness to the issue of the deficit.
"We have put the debt issue on the map," said commission co-chair Erskine Bowles, former Clinton White House chief of staff.
Concern about the deficit crosses party lines. Eighty-five percent of Republicans say it is a very serious problem, as do 64 percent of Democrats and 74 percent of independents.
With the deficit looming, Americans continue to hold grim views of the current economy. This poll was conducted prior to today's release of the latest new unemployment figures, which come close to 10 percent.
About eight in 10 say the nation's economy is in bad shape, a figure that has held fairly steady over the last two years.
However, Americans are more optimistic about the country's economic outlook than they have been for months. Thirty-one percent say the economy is getting better, the highest number since April. Twenty-four percent think it's getting worse and 44 percent say it is staying the same.
While some Americans see better economic times on the horizon, Mr. Obama still receives criticism on the issue. Nearly half say the president has spent too little time trying to create jobs and fix the economy; 37 percent think he has spent the right amount of time on the issue.
The president is also seen as having done too little for small businesses - 64 percent of Americans express that view. Only a quarter says he has done the right amount. At the same time, four in 10 think Mr. Obama has done too much for large corporations.
The increase in optimism about the economy may have helped the president a bit; his approval rating on handling the economy is up slightly from last month and about where it was in October. Forty-three percent now approve, up from 40 percent in November. Still, 50 percent disapprove.
Mr. Obama's overall job approval rating is also up slightly from last month. Forty-eight percent now approve of the job he is doing, while 42 percent disapprove. Approval among independents has risen as well, from 40 percent last month to 45 percent now.
Most Americans still disapprove of the job Congress is doing; just 17 percent approve.
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Read the Complete Poll
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,067 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone November 29-December 2, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher.
This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
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Those who've benefited most from shipping our jobs to China should be paying the most to whittle away at the resulting deficits. Period.
86% of Federal Income taxes are paid by the top 25% (it was 84%in 2000)
The top 50% pay 97% of all taxes. So that means the bottom 50% pays just THREE percent.
The top 1% of income pays 39% of all Federal income taxes.
Let's get the situation under control. Then the blame games can start.
Two wars and Medicare Part D all REPUBLICAN "something for nothing decisions" -- DO REPUBLICANS BELIEVE IN PAYING THEIR OWN BILLS or do they intend to continue forcing the debt onto others.
The Conservatives could only do the tax side of it now. Starting in January they will do the budget cuts. They have already announced this but seeing as how your are just a narrow minded Liberal partisan whom gets their "news" from the Liberal Media how could you be expected to know the TRUTH.
Let me explain this SLOWLY. The Liberals have held the House for four years now. During that time the National Debt has gone from 8.4 trillion to 14.3 trillion. This is because Liberals love to rationalize spending money and then rationalize that some "good" must somehow come from their plan. This is in spite of all the evidence to the contrary.
So now that the Liberals have been thrown out for the largest increase in a country's debt in the history of the world we can have the adults
sit down and reduce this massive and unsustainable increase in unpaid for Government spending.
But you Liberals love to criticize the truth so today you are saying that they are not doing anything. Thats funny seeing as how the Liberals held total control of the House, Senate and White House for the last 2 years. Where were the brilliant ideas on budget cutting from the Left?
When the Conservatives do start to cut the waste watch and see what the Left does. They will scream like spoiled 3 year olds. This program is needed. That program is needed. This program can not be touched. etc etc.
We have to reduce the federal government to a manageable size, and we must seriously reduce the scope of government. We don't have the money, and taxpayers are strapped enough already - no new taxes on anyone. We can not afford to cripple the economy more than it is, and we can not afford to make unemployment worse than it is. This month unemployment rose to 9.8%. We are traveling on the wrong course, and we must reverse the huge government progressive policies which are running this country in the ground.