If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

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
See Toplines
Platinum Page

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