Voters Don’t Want a Shutdown, They Want Action on the National Debt Instead
Congress faces a September 30 deadline to find agreement on a budget and avert a government shutdown. A vast majority of voters is urging them to come together to find a solution.
A new Peterson Foundation poll shows that nine-in-ten Americans want policymakers to work together to avoid a shutdown and focus on implementing solutions to our growing national debt. Strong majorities of voters across party lines believe a shutdown should be avoided because it harms the economy (77%) and because it distracts from America’s larger fiscal challenges (70%).
As Foundation CEO Michael Peterson said, “Nobody wins in a government shutdown, especially our economy and the American people.”
See the below infographic for further details on this new polling.
Further Reading
Budget Basics: What Is Sequestration?
Sequestration is a budget procedure used by lawmakers to cancel or limit funding in order to meet budget goals.
What Are Caps on Discretionary Spending and Do They Work?
Let’s look at the trends in discretionary spending and how effective caps are in reducing the debt.
Lawmakers are Running Out of Time to Fix Social Security
Without reform, Social Security could be depleted as early as 2032, with automatic cuts for beneficiaries.