July 10th, 2011 
Vanessa Williams As the partisan battle over raising the nation’s debt ceiling rages on, a new national poll indicates Americans are becoming more concerned that failing to raise the debt limit would force the government into default and damage the economy.
According to a Pew Research Center survey released Monday, 42 percent of people questioned say that worries about a government default outweigh concerns that raising the debt ceiling would lead to higher spending and make the national debt larger. That’s up seven points from May.
But 47 percent say that concerns over inflated spending and a larger national debt are more important than worries about a government default, basically unchanged from two months ago.
The poll indicates a partisan divide, with two-thirds of Republicans questioned saying fears of greater government spending and a larger debt is their top concern. By a 54 to 35 percent margin, Democrats say worries of a government default outweighs worries of a larger debt. According to the poll, independent voters are divided on the issue.
Fifty-five percent of people questioned say they have a very or fairly good understand of what would happen if the federal government does not raise the debt ceiling, up five points from May.
The poll’s release comes after meetings at the White House Monday between President Barack Obama and congressional leaders did not yield a breakthrough. Top Democrats and Republicans in Congress agreed to meet again Tuesday to try to resolve the crisis.
The Pew Research Center poll was conducted July 7 through July 10, with 1,007 national adults questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.
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