Americans Don't Understand The Deficit

The deficit may be one of the most important issues which faces Americans today and that may continue for several years. A new poll by the Wall Street Journal and NBC News shows that many US citizens barely understand the issues involved, which makes a real national debate nearly impossible.

The respondents were asked a series of questions about the new proposals from the panel of experts appointed by The White House to make recommendations about addressing the deficit. When asked their views of the initial draft report of the commission, 30% said they had no opinion. These people have almost certainly not read the document and may not have seen any media reports about it.

Most of the other responses by those polled indicate a lack of understanding about the basic economics of the deficit. Fifty-seven percent of the people queried said they did not approve of an increase in the  retirement age to 69, although it will not occur until sixty years from now when most of them will be dead.

If there is any real desire by Americans to reduce the deficit, it does not show up in this piece of research. Seven out of ten do not want cuts in entitlements. Six in ten were uncomfortable with a increase in gas taxes and limits on deductions. The money to solve the problems will appear by magic, perhaps.

Polls like the WSJ/NBC ask overly simple questions. That may be because poll experts don’t believe people are not sophisticated enough to be pressed on the details of the deficit and deficit reduction. That is depressing. American citizens cannot really participate in decisions about issues which they don’t understand.

The fight for the future of the size of the national debt has just begun in earnest. The decisions about austerity, taxes, and budget cuts will need to be made in the next year or two, if they will have a chance to change the economy over the next decade. The people who do understand the issue also realize that austerity may be forced on the US much as it has been on many nations in Europe. At some point, the taste for US debt in global capital markets will begin to disappear.

Many Americans, it would seem, have no idea what is about to hit them. They may not want to know when the axe will fall. Sometimes life is less stressful that way. Let someone else decide. The worries usually go with that group.

Douglas A. McIntyre