Contact: Jeremy Rosen
jrosen@pgpf.org
8-in-10 Voters Agree a Bipartisan Fiscal Commission would Strengthen Social Security and Benefit the Economy
With 2024 Campaign Underway, 92% of Voters are More Likely to Support a Candidate that Backs a Fiscal Commission to Reduce the National Debt
NEW YORK (January 25, 2024) — As Congress navigates funding deadlines, and following last week’s action on Fiscal Commission legislation by the House Budget Committee, new polling shows overwhelming bipartisan support for a dedicated process to recommend solutions for America’s fiscal challenges. In addition, January’s U.S. Fiscal Confidence Index, modeled after the Consumer Confidence Index, held at 41 (100 is neutral), indicating Americans’ deep concerns about the $34 trillion national debt.
Significant majorities of voters across party lines agree that a commission would strengthen Social Security for future generations, lower borrowing costs for consumers and for the government, help ensure fairness in our tax system, and improve our economic outlook. Moreover, as the 2024 campaign season gets underway, more than nine-in-ten voters would be more likely to support a candidate that supports a bipartisan fiscal commission to reduce the national debt, including 92% of Democrats and 94% of Republicans.
“A bipartisan fiscal commission is gaining momentum in Congress, and voters are overwhelmingly in support of this key step toward fiscal sustainability,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation. “Americans are in widespread agreement that a commission would benefit our budget and economy, lower interest costs, and strengthen key programs like Social Security. As the 2024 campaign heats up, voters are calling on candidates to show leadership by backing a fiscal commission to address our unsustainable national debt.”
The poll, jointly conducted by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and Republican firm North Star Opinion Research on January 16 and 17, surveyed 1,001 registered voters. Below are highlights, and the full results can be found here.
Substantial majorities of U.S. voters across party lines agree that a bipartisan commission to reduce the national debt would . . .
As Social Security faces an across-the-board 23% cut in less than 10 years, 76% of voters, including 78% of Democrats and 74% of Republicans, support a bipartisan fiscal commission that would put a plan in place to prevent these automatic cuts.
Additionally, 7-in-10 voters say rising interest costs and the government spending more than $2 billion per day on interest make it more urgent for lawmakers to form a fiscal commission.
More broadly, the U.S. Fiscal Confidence Index found that 82% of voters are calling on the president and Congress to spend more time addressing the national debt, with 79% of voters who believe the debt should be a top-three priority for policymakers.
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 online poll included 1,001 registered voters nationwide, surveyed between January 16, 2024 and January 17, 2024. 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 (31) | |||
---|---|---|---|
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? |
January 2024 | December 2023 | November 2023 |
Increased a lot | 51% | 51% | 55% |
Increased a little | 29% | 28% | 27% |
Decreased a little | 5% | 5% | 4% |
Decreased a lot | 2% | 2% | 2% |
(No change) | 9% | 10% | 10% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 4% | 4% | 2% |
INCREASED (NET) | 80% | 79% | 82% |
DECREASED (NET) | 7% | 7% | 6% |
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? |
January 2024 | December 2023 | November 2023 |
Right direction — Strongly | 8% | 9% | 7% |
Right direction — Somewhat | 19% | 18% | 19% |
Wrong track — Somewhat | 25% | 26% | 27% |
Wrong track — Strongly | 41% | 41% | 43% |
(Neither/Mixed) | 1% | 2% | 1% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 5% | 4% | 3% |
RIGHT DIRECTION (NET) | 28% | 27% | 26% |
WRONG TRACK (NET) | 67% | 67% | 70% |
PRIORITY (22) | |||
---|---|---|---|
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? |
January 2024 | December 2023 | November 2023 |
Strongly agree | 53% | 51% | 54% |
Somewhat agree | 25% | 25% | 23% |
Somewhat disagree | 13% | 14% | 14% |
Strongly disagree | 3% | 4% | 5% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 5% | 6% | 5% |
AGREE (NET) | 79% | 77% | 76% |
DISAGREE (NET) | 16% | 18% | 19% |
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? |
January 2024 | December 2023 | November 2023 |
A lot more time | 53% | 50% | 52% |
A little more time | 29% | 29% | 30% |
A little less time | 5% | 6% | 6% |
A lot less time | 4% | 5% | 4% |
(The same amount of time) | 3% | 4% | 3% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 6% | 6% | 4% |
MORE TIME (NET) | 82% | 79% | 82% |
LESS TIME (NET) | 9% | 11% | 10% |
EXPECTATIONS (69) | |||
---|---|---|---|
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)? |
January 2024 | December 2023 | November 2023 |
Much better | 8% | 8% | 6% |
Somewhat better | 20% | 18% | 17% |
Somewhat worse | 32% | 30% | 32% |
Much worse | 33% | 34% | 38% |
(No change) | 2% | 3% | 3% |
(Don't know/Refused) | 5% | 6% | 4% |
BETTER (NET) | 28% | 26% | 23% |
WORSE (NET) | 65% | 64% | 70% |
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? |
January 2024 | December 2023 | November 2023 |
Very optimistic | 7% | 7% | 6% |
Somewhat optimistic | 35% | 31% | 30% |
Somewhat pessimistic | 33% | 36% | 36% |
Very pessimistic | 19% | 17% | 21% |
(Neither/Mixed) | 2% | 4% | 3% |
(Don't Know/Refused) | 4% | 5% | 3% |
OPTIMISTIC (NET) | 42% | 39% | 37% |
PESSIMISTIC (NET) | 51% | 53% | 57% |