The myth that the budget deficit and the national debt are the top concerns of Americans has suffered yet another major blow, as TDS Co-Editor Ruy Teixeira explains in his latest ‘Public Opinion Snapshot’:
In the latest CBS/New York Times poll, a plurality of 39 percent say the economy/jobs is the most important problem facing the country compared to just 15 percent who say the deficit/debt is the main problem.
Nor does the public buy the myth that “reducing the federal budget deficit is somehow going to solve the jobs problem,” notes Teixeira:
In the same poll a mere 29 percent think cutting the deficit will create jobs compared to 29 percent who believe a major reduction in the annual budget will actually cost jobs and 27 percent who think there will be an effect on jobs.
Let the conservatives rail on about deficits and debt. It appears that the party that keeps the focus on jobs will have the edge in 2012.