Most voters believe that uncontrolled federal spending is the reason Washington has burst through the debt ceiling again, and they’re OK with shutting the government down until Democrats and Republicans come up with the needed cuts to bring down the debt.
According to the latest Rasmussen Reports survey, voters also believe that Congress, the White House, and federal agencies are to blame for the problem, not Americans paying too little in taxes.
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Overall, 56% would support a “partial” shutdown to bring the budget into line, nearly twice the 34% who don’t.
And on the blame issue, even more, 66%, believe the debt is high because of “politicians’ unwillingness to reduce government spending.” That was three times higher than the 21% who blamed taxpayers.
The government hit the $31.38 trillion debt ceiling last week. Republicans have been pushing for spending cuts, while Democrats are trying to eliminate the cap to allow unlimited spending and borrowing.
President Joe Biden has so far refused to engage in negotiations, leaving his administration to take action to stall a government shutdown.
The media has played along with the administration in warning of catastrophic impacts if the administration has to start partially shutting down the government. But those warnings have been heard before, and voters apparently aren’t scared by them.
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Rasmussen found that voters are slightly more supportive of a shutdown than they were four years ago when one loomed during the Trump administration. After a brief February 2018 shutdown, 54% said they supported it.
Republicans were more favorable to a new shutdown, but still 41% of Democrats said they prefer it to raising taxes. What’s more, a majority of Democrats — 52% — agree that politicians are to blame for sky-high government debt.
Federal workers are also against a shutdown, worried about losing pay. But after past shutdowns, federal workers have received back pay even though they were on furlough, though outside contractors do not get paid for not showing up in the office.
