Posted on 05/27/2011 12:53:42 AM PDT by DangerZone
Voters clearly aren’t confident that their elected officials will wrestle federal spending under control. In fact, many now think the government’s more likely to go belly up.
The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 50% of Likely U.S. Voters think it’s more likely that the government will go bankrupt and be unable to pay its debt before the federal budget is balanced. Thirty-three percent (33%) believe the budget is more likely to be balanced first. Sixteen percent (16%) are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Sixty-four percent (64%) of Republicans and 59% of voters not affiliated with either major political party think a government bankruptcy is more likely than a balanced budget. Fifty-three percent (53%) of Democrats are less pessimistic and expect a balanced budget first.
Political Class voters aren’t worried, however: 71% say a balanced budget will come first. Sixty-three percent (63%) of Mainstream voters, on the other hand, think a government bankruptcy is more likely.
This echoes the voter pessimism – both short- and long-term - found in earlier surveys this year. Just 31% think it is even somewhat likely that President Obama and congressional Republicans will reach an agreement to significantly cut long-term government spending trends before the 2012 elections. Only six percent (6%) say it’s Very Likely.
Just 30% of voters believe it’s even somewhat likely that the federal budget will be balanced again for a single year during their lifetimes. That includes only nine percent (9%) who feel it’s Very Likely.
Voters clearly recognize that government spending has risen over the past decade, and most favor a cap on annual spending increases limited to population growth and inflation. Government spending in the United States has grown faster than the growth of population plus inflation every year but one since 1965. Most of that spending growth resulted from policies enacted while Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon were in the White House.
(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.
The survey of 1,000 Likely Voters was conducted on May 23-24, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
Voter skepticism about the chances for a balanced budget is likely fed by the realization 60% have that government spending in America has gone up every single year since 1954.
Voters continue to believe tax cuts and decreases in government spending will benefit the nation’s economy, but just 47% recognize that it is necessary to make major changes in defense, Social Security and Medicare to make truly significant long-term cuts in government spending.
We can’t go bankrupt, or even default, as long as the debts we owe is in the form of what we have a printing press for. We’ll simply debauch our currency. I suppose that’s a form of default, but there isn’t a damn thing any of our creditors can do about it. I believe we’ve actually been doing this over the decades anyway.
100 years ago, a large family could pay the mortgage on a good sized home with only the man of the house going off to work while the wife stayed home and took care of things. Try getting away with doing that now. The father alone would do good to keep the lights and water on, while putting food on the table for that large family.
And what happens when the creditors refuse to loan us any more money? How do we make up for the trillion and a half annual deficits?
Borrow a little money, you’re a debtor.
Borrow enough money, you’re a partner!
The default will come exactly when our lending “partners” refuse to lend us more. And that is because our politicians ALWAYS take the path of least resistance...and that means spend, spend, spend. We are spending junkies. It will not end well.
The GOP is no great prize, but at least a sizeable part of it wants to do something about the budget. You can just about count the Democrats in Congress who want to do something serious on only one hand.
We'll just print ourselves some more money. We've already been buying bonds from ourselves via the Federal Reserve. They'll just continue to do it until we need a suitcase full of cash to buy a loaf of bread....
very true
Honestly, I'm amazed that the % is this high. Still, it's clear a lot of education needs to be done.
I will advance my idea again of how the USA can fix the staggering debt problem:
DECLARE NATIONAL CHAPTER 13 BANKRUPTCY AND APPOINT AN ALL-POWERFUL JUDGE TO DISCHARGE IT!
1. Pass a law (simple majority in Congress) to declare national bankruptcy.
2. The Bankruptcy Judge and his Trustees make all the decisions and kill all the sacred cows. Small Biz Administration, farm price supports, County Agents, Dept. of Education, National Public Radio, National Endowment for the Arts, unneeded military bases, numerous commissions, subsidies, grants, etc. would come under the knife or be eliminated. A million leftist GS14s would have to go flip burgers for a living using their liberal arts degrees. However, all bond and note payments WILL BE PAID. Otherwise, the interest rates we pay will reflect our deadbeat status.
3. Cut entitlements. Advance the age for collecting Social Security and Medicare. Re-examine every person on SSI Disability and make them prove they are disabled. Make it a priority to send sick illegal aliens back to their country of origin for medical care (off Medicaid). Cut Congressional pensions to ZERO since they got us into this mess. Cut Presidential pensions to zero. Cut civil service pensions to what the lowest GS4 gets.
4. Eliminate contracts. No government unions will be recognized.
5. Lay off 80-90% of all federal workers. Contract out every function that can be privatized.
6. Sell assets. GM/Chrysler stock, mortgages held by Fannie & Freddie, BLM land, some national forests, federal buildiings, mineral rights including offshore. All proceeds must be used to PAY DOWN THE NATIONAL DEBT.
How’s that for a start?
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