Last week, the national debt surpassed $39 trillion for the first time, and Americans’ fiscal confidence dropped to its lowest level in nearly two years. The Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s U.S. Fiscal Confidence Index fell to 43 in March (100 is neutral), the lowest level since June 2024, indicating that voters across party lines have deep concerns about the rapid increase in debt, and are calling for their leaders to take action. Additionally, Americans make a strong connection between rising debt and their personal cost of living and economic outlook. 

The new national survey, jointly conducted by Democratic firm Global Strategy Group and Republican firm North Star Opinion Research, finds:

• 90% of voters (including 94% of Democrats, 92% of independents and 86% of Republicans) are concerned that the national debt’s effect on inflation is increasing the cost of living, including prices for groceries, energy, housing, transportation, and other goods and services. Democrats remain the most intensely concerned (63% very concerned), while intensity grew sharply among independents (56% very concerned, up eight points) and Republicans (45% very concerned, up nine points).
• Looking ahead to this year’s elections, 83% of voters (including 85% of Democrats, 77% of independents and 85% of Republicans) say having a plan to address the debt is a deciding factor in supporting a candidate.
• In addition, 74% of voters (including 68% of Democrats, 81% of independents and 74% of Republicans) say they would consider supporting a candidate from a political party they do not usually support, if that candidate had a clear plan to address the debt.
• 95% of voters say candidates this year should clearly explain their plan to prevent an automatic 23% annual cut to Social Security benefits — if Congress does nothing to address Social Security’s deteriorating finances, these automatic cuts will occur in 2032, during the term of U.S. Senators elected this November.
• More than 7 in 10 voters want to hear more than they have heard over the past month about how candidates will tackle the debt and its impact on the cost of living.

“The national debt surpassing $39 trillion is a clear warning that it’s time for a fiscal course correction,” said Michael A. Peterson, CEO of the Peterson Foundation. “Today’s new survey shows that voters are concerned about how the national debt is increasing their own cost of living, and their worries are growing. In this year’s election, voters are ready to support leaders who advance solutions to our debt, because they understand it’s critical for their own economic outlook.”

March’s U.S. Fiscal Confidence Index shows widespread agreement that addressing the debt should be a top-three priority for the president and Congress (82% agree/13% disagree), including agreement among 81% of Democrats, 76% of independents and 87% of Republicans. Intensity of agreement is also rising, with a majority of voters now strongly agreeing that the national debt should be a top priority (56%, up from 52% in February).

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 March Fiscal Confidence Index value is 43. (The February value was 48. The January value was 50.)
• The current Fiscal Confidence Index score for CONCERN about the debt is 39, indicating deep concern about the debt. The score for debt as a PRIORITY that leaders must address is 20, 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 69. 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 1,000 registered voters nationwide between March 16 and March 18, 2026. It has a margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

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