7 in 10 Don’t Think the Government Will Ever Pay Off National Debt, According to Latest American Pulse™ Survey

Worthington, OH (PRWEB) August 25, 2011

The vast majority of Adults 18+ (72.5%) are not confident that the government will ever pay off all its debt, according to the latest [American Pulse™ Survey of 5,243 respondents. 11.8% think it is possible while 15.8% don’t know. Further, nearly half (49.8%) don’t think the most recent debt ceiling bill will be able to fix the national debt problem. 14.2% believe the debt ceiling bill will fix the situation, while 36.0% are unsure.

It appears most Americans are confident with who to blame for the gloomy state of the economy. Over half hold Congress responsible for the weak economy and dismal stock market. Nearly half (46.3%) blame both the House and Senate for the credit rating downgrade to AA:

Who is to blame for the weak economy?
Both the House and Senate: 52.5%
Obama Administration: 34.3%
Other: 13.2%

Who is to blame for the weak stock market?
Both the House and Senate: 51.5%
Obama Administration: 31.1%
Other: 17.3%

Who is to blame for the credit rating downgrade to AA?
Both the House and Senate: 46.3%
Obama Administration: 34.4%
Other: 19.3%

Source: American Pulse™ Survey, August-2011

Although Americans assign most of the blame to Congress, they still keep the President in their sights. About one-third blames the Obama Administration for the current economic condition.

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Americans also hold the media responsible for spreading negative sentiment regarding the financial crisis. 61.2% say the media created a debt ceiling frenzy with their coverage. 23.2% disagree and 15.5% don’t know. However, almost half (49.4%) do not blame the media for drops in the stock market. 3 in 10 (31.3%) do and 19.2% aren’t sure.

Other Key Findings:

•     Over the next six months, nearly half (49.1%) expect the economy to get somewhat or significantly worse. 15.9% are optimistic that the economy will get better while 35.0% think it will stay about the same.
•     73.2% of Americans are expecting food prices to rise over the next six months. 67.5% predict the same for gasoline and 61.9% expect to pay higher prices for clothing.
•     More than 4 in 10 (44.2%) had to cut back or cancel a vacation this summer. 31.5% didn’t have anything scheduled and fewer than 1 in 4 (24.3%) proceeded as planned.
•     86.3% believe teenagers and young adults are addicted to technology. 33.6% admit that they themselves are the addicts.

American Pulse™
The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by twice a month exclusively utilizing SSI’s U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. 5,243 respondents participated in the 2nd August American Pulse conducted 8/16-8/18/2011. Margin of error is +/- 1.4%. http://www.biginsight.com

Survey Sampling International (SSI)
Bringing together Survey Sampling International and Opinionology, SSI is the premier global provider of world-leading sampling, data collection and data analytic solutions for survey research. SSI reaches respondents in 72 countries via Internet, telephone, mobile/wireless and mixed access offerings. Value-add services include questionnaire design consultation, programming and hosting, data processing and real-time reporting. SSI serves more than 2,000 clients, including the top 50 research organizations. It has 30 offices serving clients around the world.

BIGinsight                     
Chrissy Wissinger                     
chrissy(at)biginsight(dot)com        
Randi Honkonen                            
randi(at)biginsight(dot)com
614.846.0146

SSI
Ilene Siegalovsky
Ilene_Siegalovsky(at)surveysampling(dot)com
203-567-7230

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