Following a year that saw the highest interest costs ever, and the most expensive reconciliation bill and longest government shutdown in history, U.S. fiscal confidence is in worse shape now than at the start of 2025. The latest monthly Index sponsored by the nonpartisan Peter G. Peterson Foundation is 51 (100 is neutral) — six points lower than January 2025 — indicating that voters want to address the unsustainable national debt and budget outlook.  

The December survey shows that 82% of voters agree lawmakers should spend more time addressing the national debt. Additionally, 79% of voters believe reducing the debt should be a top-three priority for the president and Congress, including 75% of Democrats, 70% of independents, and 89% of Republicans.

“As the new year begins, voters are understandably concerned about America’s fiscal direction,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation. “The rapidly rising debt puts upward pressure on inflation and interest rates, driving up the cost of living and harming economic growth. Looking ahead to this election year, it will be critically important for candidates to engage voters on solutions that will help stabilize the debt and build a stronger, more prosperous 2026 and beyond.” 

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 December 2025 Fiscal Confidence Index value is 51. (The November value was 50. The October value was 46.)
• The current Fiscal Confidence Index score for CONCERN about the debt is 49, indicating deep concern about the debt. The score for debt as a PRIORITY that leaders must address is 22, 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.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation commissioned this poll by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and Republican firm North Star Opinion Research. The online poll surveyed 1,004 registered voters nationwide between December 15 and December 17, 2025. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

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