Majority of Americans OPPOSE raising the debt ceiling without spending cuts trends now
A majority of Americans would rather see a government shutdown than watch the federal government increase its borrowing limits without cutting spending, according to a new poll.
Fifty-six percent of Americans would rather see a partial government shutdown until Congress can agree to cut spending or keep it the same, while 34 percent would rather see avoid a partial spending by raising the limit with no negotiating on spending.
President Biden and House Republicans are at loggerheads after the U.S. reached its $31.4 trillion borrowing limit last week, prompting the Treasury Department to take 'extraordinary measures' to avoid a debt default that could trigger economic mayhem.
The extraordinary measures will buy the Treasury until June before the possibility of a default, according to Sec. Janet Yellen.
But with the Biden White House saying it won't negotiate on spending cuts and House Republicans saying they won't agree to increase the limit without them, the political stalemate may well run right up against the June deadline.
Experts say that a U.S. default would not only mean the U.S. government could not pay its workers - not paying debt could have reverberations around the world, triggering a global recession.
President Joe Biden says he won't negotiate allowing the government to default on its bills
Republicans - seeing an opportunity to rein in spending - haven't ruled out cuts to the government's priciest programs like Social Security and Medicare.
Four years ago, when Donald Trump was president and squared off with Democrats over the debt ceiling, 54 percent of respondents said they preferred a partial shutdown.
A majority of Republicans (71 percent) and independent voters (56 percent) would rather have a partial government shutdown until Congress agrees to spending cuts or to keep levels the same, and 41 percent of Democrats agree with them.
Fifty percent of Democrats would rather avoid a partial shutdown - even if it means authorizing more spending - while only 22 percent of Republicans and 30 percent of independents feel the same.
Notably respondents who make between $30,000 and $50,000 per year are most likely to say they would prefer a shutdown to more spending.
Sixty-six percent of respondents said the swollen size of the federal budget was more due to politicians' unwillingness to reduce government spending while 21 percent said it was due to taxpayers' unwillingness to pay more taxes.
The U.S. hit the ceiling on Thursday, forcing the Treasury Department to start using 'extraordinary measures' so the government can keep paying bills while Congress negotiates to try and avoid an economic meltdown that would otherwise arrive in June
