Americans are increasingly concerned about our fiscal condition, as independent experts agree that the budget reconciliation proposal would add trillions of dollars to the national debt. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s Fiscal Confidence Index fell for the fourth-straight month in June, reaching its lowest point so far this year. The Index is at 50 (100 is neutral) indicating that voters across party lines want Congress and the administration to address America’s debt outlook.

The percentage of voters who believe the government is going in the right fiscal direction is 38%, the lowest this year, while the percentage of voters whose concern has increased about the national debt is the highest this year at 81%. Three in four voters agree (76% agree/17% disagree) that addressing the national debt must be a top priority for the president and Congress, including 64% of Democrats, 77% of independents, and 88% of Republicans.

“According to the recent Trustees reports, Social Security and Medicare are only eight years away from automatic cuts, so now is the time to address our unsustainable debt, not add trillions of dollars to it,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation. “Budget Reconciliation was originally intended to be a tool to improve our nation’s finances, not a vehicle for implementing additional deficit spending using irresponsible budget gimmicks. With deficits and interest costs rising, so is economic uncertainty, and the number of Americans calling for fiscal leadership from Washington. It’s not too late to improve this bill’s impact on the debt, to put America on a better fiscal path.” 

Last week, the Social Security Trustees estimated that the Social Security trust fund will be depleted in eight years, triggering an automatic benefit cut of 23% for all beneficiaries. The Medicare Trustees stated that the Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund, which finances Medicare Part A, would also become depleted in 2033, three years sooner than in last year’s report. Upon depletion of the HI Trust Fund, payments to medical providers would be reduced by 11%.

The Fiscal Confidence Index measures public opinion about the national debt by asking six questions in three key areas:

• CONCERN: Level of concern and views about the direction of the national debt.
• PRIORITY: How high a priority addressing the debt should be for elected leaders.
• EXPECTATIONS: Expectations about whether the debt situation will get better or worse in the next few years.

The survey results from these three areas are weighted equally and averaged to produce the Fiscal Confidence Index value. The Fiscal Confidence Index, like the Consumer Confidence Index, is indexed on a scale of 0 to 200, with a neutral midpoint of 100. A reading above 100 indicates positive sentiment. A reading below 100 indicates negative sentiment.

Fiscal Confidence Index Key Data Points: 

• The June 2025 Fiscal Confidence Index value is 50. (The May value was 52. The April Value was 54. The March value was 59. The February value was 62.)
• The current Fiscal Confidence Index score for CONCERN about the debt is 42, indicating deep concern about the debt. The score for debt as a PRIORITY that leaders must address is 27, indicating that Americans want elected leaders to make addressing long-term debt a high priority. The score for EXPECTATIONS about progress on the debt is 80. The Fiscal Confidence Index is the average of these three sub-category scores.

This online poll surveyed 1,006 registered voters nationwide between June 16 and June 18, 2025. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

Detailed results can be found online at www.pgpf.org/FiscalConfidenceIndex.