Questions - Debt Ceiling - April 21-22, 2011
Just 23% Realize Deficit Largely Due to Commitments Made in 1960s and ‘70s
50% Recognize Official Debt Ceiling Figures Understate the Problem
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National Survey of 1,000 Likely
Voters
Conducted April 21-22, 2011
By Rasmussen Reports
1* How
closely have you followed recent news reports about the federal government debt
ceiling?
2*
Does an increase in the federal debt ceiling authorize the federal government
to spend more money or have the spending levels already been set by Congress?
3* The federal debt ceiling is approximately $14 trillion. Does
that include the cost of commitments the federal government has made for future
retirement benefits, Social Security benefits, and Medicare benefits?
4* When
measuring how much the federal government actually owes, should the cost of
commitments the federal government has made for future retirement benefits, be
included?
5* Is it true that most of today’s federal deficit is the
result of spending commitments made by Congress in the 1960s and 1970s?
NOTE: Margin of Sampling Error, +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence
