Contact: Jeremy Rosen
jrosen@pgpf.org
The September 2019 Fiscal Confidence Index, Modeled after the Consumer Confidence Index, is 52 (100 is Neutral)
NEW YORK (September 24, 2019) — As another fiscal year of budget uncertainty and rising deficits comes to an end , the vast majority of Americans want the president and Congress to address the national debt, according to the Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s monthly Fiscal Confidence Index. The September Fiscal Confidence Index, modeled after the Consumer Confidence Index, is 52 (100 is neutral), indicating that voters remain highly concerned about the lack of leadership on this issue.
As the nation approaches trillion-dollar deficits, three in four Americans (75%) agree that the President and Congress should make managing the national debt a top-three priority. This belief spans party lines, including 73% of Democrats, 74% of independents and 79% of Republicans. Consistent with the results last month, less than a third of voters (30%) believe we are headed in the right direction in addressing our national debt. The majority of voters (63%) agree that their level of concern about the national debt has increased, which is up three points from last month.
“Americans’ fiscal confidence remains low because they see rising deficits and inaction from their leaders,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation. “Voters understand that trillion-dollar deficits and rising interest costs are a problem, and make it more difficult to address critical priorities from climate change to infrastructure. Leaders must regain control of the budget and manage the debt to ensure greater economic opportunity and quality of life for our kids and grandkids.”
The Fiscal Confidence Index measures public opinion about the national debt by asking six questions in three key areas:
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 Peter G. Peterson Foundation commissioned this poll by the Global Strategy Group and North Star Opinion Research to survey public opinion on the national debt. The nationwide poll included 1,000 U.S. registered voters, surveyed by telephone between September 16, 2019 and September 19, 2019. The poll has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%. The poll examined voters’ opinions on the national debt, political leadership, and America’s fiscal and economic health.
Detailed poll results can be found online at: www.pgpf.org/FiscalConfidenceIndex.
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that is dedicated to increasing public awareness of the nature and urgency of key fiscal challenges threatening America's future, and to accelerating action on them. To address these challenges successfully, we work to bring Americans together to find and implement sensible, long-term solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results. To learn more, please visit www.pgpf.org.
CONCERN (50) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Thinking about our national debt over the last few years, would you say your level of concern has increased or decreased? ◊ Is that a lot or just a little? |
September 2019 | August 2019 | July 2019 |
Increased a lot | 39% | 36% | 41% |
Increased a little | 24% | 24% | 21% |
Decreased a little | 11% | 12% | 11% |
Decreased a lot | 6% | 8% | 6% |
(No change) | 18% | 17% | 19% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 2% | 3% | 2% |
INCREASED (NET) | 63% | 60% | 62% |
DECREASED (NET) | 17% | 20% | 17% |
When it comes to addressing our national debt, would you say things in the United States are heading in the right direction or do you think things are off on the wrong track? ◊ Do you feel that way strongly or just somewhat? |
September 2019 | August 2019 | July 2019 |
Right direction-Strongly | 15% | 16% | 15% |
Right direction-Somewhat | 15% | 13% | 18% |
Wrong track-Somewhat | 18% | 17% | 16% |
Wrong track-Strongly | 40% | 41% | 40% |
(Neither/Mixed) | 7% | 8% | 6% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 5% | 5% | 5% |
RIGHT DIRECTION (NET) | 30% | 30% | 33% |
WRONG TRACK (NET) | 58% | 58% | 56% |
PRIORITY (29) | |||
---|---|---|---|
Some people say that addressing the national debt should be among the president and Congress' top 3 priorities. Do you agree or disagree? ◊ Do you feel that way strongly or just somewhat? |
September 2019 | August 2019 | July 2019 |
Strongly agree | 47% | 44% | 42% |
Somewhat agree | 28% | 31% | 32% |
Somewhat disagree | 11% | 12% | 13% |
Strongly disagree | 8% | 7% | 8% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 5% | 6% | 5% |
AGREE (NET) | 75% | 75% | 74% |
DISAGREE (NET) | 19% | 19% | 20% |
And when it comes to our national debt, do you think it is an issue that the president and Congress should spend more time addressing or less time addressing? ◊ Would you say a lot (more or less) time or just a little? |
September 2019 | August 2019 | July 2019 |
A lot more time | 54% | 52% | 58% |
A little more time | 26% | 30% | 24% |
A little less time | 6% | 5% | 3% |
A lot less time | 4% | 3% | 2% |
(The same amount of time) | 6% | 6% | 7% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 3% | 4% | 6% |
MORE TIME (NET) | 79% | 82% | 83% |
LESS TIME (NET) | 11% | 8% | 5% |
EXPECTATIONS (77) | |||
---|---|---|---|
And thinking about our national debt over the next few years, do you expect the problem to get better or worse? ◊ Is that much (better or worse) or just somewhat (better or worse)? |
September 2019 | August 2019 | July 2019 |
Much better | 11% | 10% | 11% |
Somewhat better | 15% | 15% | 16% |
Somewhat worse | 27% | 28% | 26% |
Much worse | 34% | 33% | 33% |
(No change) | 5% | 6% | 5% |
(Don't know/Refused) | 7% | 8% | 9% |
BETTER (NET) | 26% | 25% | 27% |
WORSE (NET) | 61% | 61% | 59% |
And when it comes to our national debt, are you optimistic or pessimistic that the United States will be able to make progress on our national debt over the next few years? ◊ Would you say you are very (optimistic or pessimistic) or just somewhat? |
September 2019 | August 2019 | July 2019 |
Very optimistic | 18% | 17% | 21% |
Somewhat optimistic | 29% | 29% | 28% |
Somewhat pessimistic | 19% | 21% | 19% |
Very pessimistic | 24% | 22% | 23% |
(Neither/Mixed) | 5% | 6% | 3% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 4% | 5% | 5% |
OPTIMISTIC (NET) | 47% | 46% | 50% |
PESSIMISTIC (NET) | 44% | 43% | 42% |