Wednesday, July 27, 2011

New Poll: Public wants compromise on debt ceiling

The Pew Research Center has just released a new poll gauging public opinion on the deficit/debt ceiling issue.  Here is a summary of some of the key findings:

68% of Americans (including 53% of Republicans) say they want their Senator and Representative to compromise to reach a deal. 53% of Tea Party supporters oppose any compromise.  Americans support a compromise even if they disagree with some elements of the final deal.

Only 17% of Americans are satisfied with the way things are going in the country, down from 32% in May.  That’s the lowest level of satisfaction this year.

50% believe the Republican Party is more extreme in its positions.
51% believe Democrats are more concerned with needs of people like them.
51% believe Democrats are more willing to work with opposition leaders.

65% believe their personal finances with be affected if the debt ceiling isn’t raised by August 2nd.  Hispanics (72%), the elderly-65+ (71%) and Democrats (69%) are most concerned about the impact on their finances.

60% (including 46% of Republicans) say a combination of tax increases and spending cuts should be used to cut the deficit.  Tea Party supporters favor spending cuts alone (52%).

Only 44% now approve of the job Obama is doing, down from 56% April.  Democratic leaders and Republican leaders score even worse at 30% and 25% respectively.

Pew surveyed 1,501 adults July 20-24.  The margin of error is +/- 3.5%.



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