As the Republican Party toils through internal battles over President-Elect Donald Trump’s call to abolish the debt ceiling, and Democrats push more federal spending on hundreds of programs, data from a recent poll reveals that Americans don’t expect a balanced budget for the rest of their life.
According to Rasmussen Reports’ latest numbers, 36% of voters surveyed said that they think it is likely that the federal budget will be balanced for even a single year during their lifetime, including only nine percent who say it’s very likely. Fifty-six percent consider a balanced budget unlikely in their lifetime, with 23% who say it’s Not At All Likely.
Other notable revelations from the poll include:
• 67% of voters said they believed it would be good for the economy if the federal budget was balanced.
• 9% of voters said it would be bad for the economy instead.
• 12% say a balanced budget would have no impact.
• Another 12% are not sure if a balanced budget would have any impact on the U.S. economy.
The survey of 1,212 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on December 12 and 15-16, 2024 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.
