Few Americans Fear ‘Economic Catastrophe’ If Debt Ceiling Not Raised

Alexander Eichler
The Huffington Post
July 14, 2011

Of the 22 percent of Americans who want the federal government to raise the debt ceiling, less than a third say that “economic catastrophe” would result from not doing so, according to a Gallup poll released Wednesday.

The poll examines Americans’ reasons for why they do or don’t want to see the debt ceiling raised. Only 22 percent of Americans want their member of Congress to vote in favor of increasing the debt ceiling, compared with 42 percent who would like their member of Congress to vote against it, a Gallup survey noted on Tuesday.

About a third of those who want the debt ceiling raised — 32 percent — said it should be done in order to “avoid economic catastrophe” when asked to give their reasons in an open-ended format. Another 23 percent said it had to be done so as “to not default on debt,” 17 percent said it was “necessary” or there was “no choice,” and 16 percent said it should be done “to avoid [a] government shutdown” or a “suspension of services/benefits.”

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This article was posted: Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 10:22 am

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