Raise The Debt Ceiling Again? Majority Of Americans Say No [Poll]

It’s Friday, so that means that President Obama and Congress are likely to pick up the ‘ol “raise the debt ceiling” fight again sometime soon. The last couple of times, America didn’t really know where she stood on the issue, but nowadays she seems to be putting her foot down.

According to a recent NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, 44 percent of Americans are firmly against raising the debt ceiling any further. Experts note that, like with Syria, the latest poll results put President Obama at odds with the public and under pressure to make a persuasive case for an unpopular issue in a short amount of time.

“People’s first instinct is how fed up they are with Washington and spending,” said Republican pollster Bill McInturff, who, with Democratic pollster Peter D. Hart, conducted the poll. “This is a very difficult issue in terms of public opinion.”

But most would agree that something needs to be done. The Bipartisan Policy Center estimates that our current debt limit will increase by October 18, leaving US default possible by November 5.

The question is whether or not Americans are against massive government spending and further raising of the debt ceiling in yet another attempt to stimulate an ailing economy outright or if they’re just sick of the political bickering back and forth between two deeply opposed parties that represent their respective constituents less and less every day.

The fight is much like the 2011 debt-limit battle in that Republicans are demanding massive spending cuts to accompany a possible debt ceiling hike. President Obama and his supporters in Congress argue that the GOP has no right to ask for additional spending cuts, and that the debt ceiling needs to be raised due to money already spent, not money yet to be spent.

The partisan politics of Washington these days are so divisive that it’s hard to forget that the debt ceiling battle comes up every year, regardless of the president. It’s always an unpopular issue, but one every President has to face.

In 2006, then-Senator Obama voted against raising the debt ceiling and even called it “a sign of leadership failure.”