Americans See Debt Threat, Reject Tax ‘Scare’
By Julie Hirschfeld Davis - Jun 24, 2011 12:01 AM ET
Bloomberg.com
Americans say that the $14.3 trillion U.S. debt threatens the economy and that entitlement programs may go broke even as they dismiss as “scare tactics” the arguments offered by Republicans and Democrats who are debating a solution.
Their sentiments in a Bloomberg National Poll suggest that the public is open to the recommendations of the majority of President Barack Obama’s debt commission. Members of the group, which included current and former members of Congress and White House officials, called for revenue increases and spending cuts that would have shaved deficits by $3.8 trillion over the next decade.
More than 60 percent of those surveyed say that interest on the debt may lead to a recession and that the rising costs of Medicare and Social Security represent real dangers, according to the poll conducted June 17-20.
.
.
.
Fifty-one percent of poll respondents say they aren’t convinced the U.S. could default on its obligations unless Congress raises the debt ceiling. They say that’s a scare tactic, compared with 43 percent who say default is a real danger.
Full story: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-06-24/americans-see-debt-threat-reject-tax-scare-.html
| 
