Public Opinion Toward the National Debt

• In Event: Budgets and Attitudes Toward Economic Policy

Abstract

The national debt of the United States has risen steadily since the 1980s. Public debt now totals 78 percent of GDP, and is on pace to eclipse levels from World War II. With deficits on the rise, and soon to reach $1 trillion, how does the American public think about the long-term fiscal outlook? Previous literature has examined public opinion towards government spending, finding that the American public largely supports more social spending and lower taxes. However, few studies has examined how Americans prioritize spending and taxation in regards to debt reduction. In other words, given the rising and high debt level – when offered options to decrease spending or raise taxes, which does the public prioritize? Using a unique and nationally representative survey, we examine how citizens view the importance of the national debt as an issue and how they want policymakers to reduce the nation’s high debt level. Our preliminary results suggest that the American public highly prioritizes the national debt as an issue, even when given a range of other areas to prioritize. We theorize that Americans when asked will support placing the burden of debt reduction on unpopular constituencies or outgroups. Among those who do prioritize the national debt, their preferred policy response is to increase taxes on those who make more than $250,000. Democrats are much more likely to prefer raising taxes on those making more than $250,000, liberals are much more likely to support less military spending, and conservatives would like to see “selected areas” cut. However, regardless of partisanship and ideology citizens do not want to raise the Social Security retirement age, cut Medicare benefits, raising everyone’s taxes, and reducing tax deductions.

Authors

• Christopher G. Faricy, The Maxwell School at Syracuse University

• Christopher L. Pulliam, Brookings Institution