Behind the Numbers: Federal Budget Deficit


Posted at 03:00 PM ET, 02/07/2012

Polling on pork
By Scott Clement
Polls show Americans hold overwhelmingly negative views of earmarks and pork barrel spending in general, but also want congressional dollars back in their district.

By Scott Clement  |  03:00 PM ET, 02/07/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit | Tags:  Democratic Party

Posted at 12:17 PM ET, 01/30/2012

Poll watcher: Are capital gains tax rates popular?
By Scott Clement
A New York Times/CBS News poll shows a stark partisan divide on whether investment income should be taxed at a lower rate than ordinary earnings.

By Scott Clement  |  12:17 PM ET, 01/30/2012 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Barack Obama, Economy, Federal Budget Deficit, GOP nomination, Presidential Approval, Republican Party, Voting, methodology | Tags:  budget deficit, gop nomination, Republican Party

Posted at 03:08 PM ET, 12/15/2011

Debates far more level terrain than polls
By Jon Cohen
Do lower-tier Republican candidates have bias in debates to blame for their standing in the polls? A look at the data assembled by The Post’s graphics team says no, not really.

By Jon Cohen  |  03:08 PM ET, 12/15/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 12:43 PM ET, 12/15/2011

Poll watcher: Most support keeping payroll tax cut
By Scott Clement
Fully 58 percent of Americans say Congress should vote to extend the temporary payroll tax deduction passed last year in an Associated Press-GfK poll.

By Scott Clement  |  12:43 PM ET, 12/15/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 02:00 PM ET, 11/30/2011

Foreign policy poll watcher: Is Gingrich trusted with the ‘3 a.m. phone call?’
By Scott Clement
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has become a frontrunner in the race for the Republican presidential nomination by consolidating support among key GOP groups, and while some have dismissed him as another GOP “flavor of the month,” his longtime Washington ties may give him an edge over other contenders.

By Scott Clement  |  02:00 PM ET, 11/30/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  GOP nomination, Federal Budget Deficit, International polls

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 11/23/2011

Rally around Thanksgiving
By Jon Cohen
Almost all Americans, regardless of political affiliation, have favorable views of Thanksgiving dinner, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

By Jon Cohen  |  07:00 AM ET, 11/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  GOP nomination, Congress, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 07:00 AM ET, 11/23/2011

Americans unfriend Congress
By Jon Cohen
Beyond its dismal approval ratings, Congress now has its lowest favorable rating in more than 25 years, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

By Jon Cohen  |  07:00 AM ET, 11/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  GOP nomination, Congress, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 03:33 PM ET, 11/22/2011

Poll watcher: Gingrich leads in GOP race, Americans predicted supercommittee failure
By Scott Clement
Three new national polls show former House Speaker Newt Gingrich either tied or holding a slight lead over Mitt Romney, and when pitted against each other, Gingrich holds a 10 percentage point edge.

By Scott Clement  |  03:33 PM ET, 11/22/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  GOP nomination, Congress, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 02:49 PM ET, 11/18/2011

Poll watcher: Is Gingrich competitive with Obama? Most want compromise on supercommittee
By Scott Clement
Newt Gingrich’s rise in the GOP nomination race begs a key question: How would he fare against the president?

By Scott Clement  |  02:49 PM ET, 11/18/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  2012 polls, GOP nomination, Federal Budget Deficit, Congress

Posted at 05:07 PM ET, 11/16/2011

Poll watcher: Is Paul the strongest candidate in Iowa?
By Scott Clement
A new Bloomberg News survey shows Ron Paul with comparatively few flaws in the eyes of likely Iowa Caucus participants.

By Scott Clement  |  05:07 PM ET, 11/16/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  GOP nomination, Health care, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 01:24 PM ET, 11/14/2011

Poll watcher: How popular is health care mandate? Gingrich up, Cain down and the supercommittee
By Scott Clement
A CNN poll released Monday finds a 52 percent majority of Americans support the law’s provision that “all Americans who do not have health insurance get it,” up from 44 percent in June. But polls show much lower support when surveys explicitly mention a “fine” for those who remain uninsured.

By Scott Clement  |  01:24 PM ET, 11/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Health care, GOP nomination, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 12:01 AM ET, 10/11/2011

Poll: Middle-class pain necessary, but widely unpopular
By Scott Clement
More than eight in 10 Americans say the middle class will have to make financial sacrifices to reduce the nation’s budget deficit.

By Scott Clement  |  12:01 AM ET, 10/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 06:33 PM ET, 09/19/2011

Obama deficit cuts popular in polls
By Scott Clement
In laying out how he'd pay for the sweeping American Jobs Act, President Obama stuck to measures that have backers across the political spectrum, at least according to the polls.

By Scott Clement  |  06:33 PM ET, 09/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Barack Obama, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 12:45 PM ET, 08/08/2011

Economic pessimism skyrockets as Obama approval rating declines
By Scott Clement
Fully sixty percent of Americans say the economy is in a downturn and getting worse in a new CNN poll, up from 36 percent in April and the highest in polls since early 2010.

By Scott Clement  |  12:45 PM ET, 08/08/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Barack Obama, Economy, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 11:57 AM ET, 08/04/2011

Poll watchers: Debt deal reactions, Fla. rates Obama, low opinions of Washington
By Peyton M. Craighill
A summary of recent polling.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  11:57 AM ET, 08/04/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Barack Obama, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 05:37 PM ET, 08/03/2011

Poll watchers: Debt deal fallout, swing-state polling, consumer spending
By Scott Clement and Peyton M. Craighill
A summary of daily polling: Debt deal fallout, swing-state polling, consumer spending

By Scott Clement and Peyton M. Craighill  |  05:37 PM ET, 08/03/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Economy, Federal Budget Deficit, 2012 polls, Barack Obama

Posted at 11:20 AM ET, 08/02/2011

Tea party Republicans grow fond of Boehner, maintain focus on 2012
By Scott Clement
Poll finds a majority of Republicans who agree with the tea party movement give the House speaker J positive reviews for his role in debt negotiations.

By Scott Clement  |  11:20 AM ET, 08/02/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  2012 polls, Tea party, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 03:02 PM ET, 08/01/2011

Budget talks in a word: ‘Ridiculous,’ ‘disgusting’ and ‘stupid’ top poll
By Jon Cohen

By Jon Cohen  |  03:02 PM ET, 08/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 12:23 PM ET, 08/01/2011

Polls: Did the public get what it wanted in debt deal?
By Peyton M. Craighill
The recently struck deal to raise the debt ceiling and reduce the national debt relies exclusively on cuts in federal spending. In numerous national polls, the public expressed a clear desire for a combined approach of both cuts and tax increases.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  12:23 PM ET, 08/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 02:12 PM ET, 07/29/2011

Poll: Tea party splits Republicans on debt debate
By Peyton M. Craighill and Scott Clement
Republican and GOP-leaning independents most strongly aligned with the tea party movement are more vehement than other Republicans in their views about the debt ceiling.

By Peyton M. Craighill and Scott Clement  |  02:12 PM ET, 07/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit, Crosstabs

Posted at 01:27 PM ET, 07/28/2011

Poll Watchers: Obama vs. generic Republican, the deficit, rating congressional leaders, the GOP nomination and wine vs. beer
By Peyton M. Craighill
A summary of daily polling at The Washington Post.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  01:27 PM ET, 07/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit, GOP nomination, Tea party, 2012 polls

Posted at 01:52 PM ET, 07/25/2011

Obama holds (slight) edge in trust on debt limit
By Scott Clement
In the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll, Americans say they trust President Obama slightly more than congressional Republicans in the debt limit debate.

By Scott Clement  |  01:52 PM ET, 07/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 04:08 PM ET, 07/20/2011

Poll: Obama and GOP (low) approval on economy, deficit and taxes
By Peyton M. Craighill
The public has sharply critical assessments of how the president and congressional Republicans are handling the economy, the federal budget deficit and taxes.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  04:08 PM ET, 07/20/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Barack Obama, Economy, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 10:10 PM ET, 07/19/2011

Poll: taxes beat spending cuts for debt reduction
By Peyton M. Craighill
In evaluating ways to reduce the national debt, tax increases in a variety of shapes and sizes beat out military spend cuts and cuts to entitlements such as Medicaid, Medicare and Social Security.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:10 PM ET, 07/19/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, Crosstabs

Posted at 10:59 AM ET, 07/15/2011

Obama news conference: What the polls say
By Scott Clement
As Obama steps to the podium for his third press conference in two weeks, polls show public widely concerned and about the consequences of a default.

By Scott Clement  |  10:59 AM ET, 07/15/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, Economy

Posted at 01:06 PM ET, 07/14/2011

Poll Watchers: Pew Global poll, blame for default, unemployment, mood of the country
By Peyton M. Craighill
A summary of daily polling: Pew Global poll, blame for default, unemployment, mood of the country.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  01:06 PM ET, 07/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  International polls, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 01:35 PM ET, 07/13/2011

Poll watchers: Debt ceiling, Congress widely unpopular and more Bachmann
By Peyton M. Craighill and Scott Clement
Debt ceiling debate – By roughly 2 to 1 more Americans would want their member of Congress to vote against raising the debt ceiling, 42 to 22 percent in the latest Gallup poll. Still, a sizable 35 percent don’t know enough about the debate to offer an opinion.

By Peyton M. Craighill and Scott Clement  |  01:35 PM ET, 07/13/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit, GOP nomination

Posted at 01:18 PM ET, 07/08/2011

Poll watchers: personal finances, rising interest in GOP campaign, debt limit polling and Casey Anthony
By Scott Clement
A 55 percent majority of Americans say their personal finances are in bad shape according to Bloomberg, as a new government report shows that job growth came to a near halt in June.

By Scott Clement  |  01:18 PM ET, 07/08/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, GOP nomination

Posted at 12:40 PM ET, 07/07/2011

Poll Watchers: Entitlement reform, debt debate and gender differences on job recovery
By Peyton M. Craighill
A summary of daily polling.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  12:40 PM ET, 07/07/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Census 2010, Economy, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 04:27 PM ET, 07/05/2011

Poll watchers: Space shuttle popular, Jews (still) back Obama
By Scott Clement
Has the space shuttle program been a good investment? Most Americans think so.

By Scott Clement  |  04:27 PM ET, 07/05/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 01:07 PM ET, 06/27/2011

Poll Watchers: Iowa GOP caucus, debt limit update, Supreme Court wrap-up, confidence in newspapers
By Peyton M. Craighill
A summary of daily polling.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  01:07 PM ET, 06/27/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  GOP nomination, Supreme Court, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 12:01 PM ET, 06/24/2011

Poll Watchers 6/24/11: Friday blues for the economy, New York same-sex marriage, Libya operation and U.S. evangelicals
By Scott Clement and Peyton Craighill
Only 29 percent of Americans expect the economy to improve in the next year, the lowest point since 2008, according to a Pew survey.

By Scott Clement and Peyton Craighill  |  12:01 PM ET, 06/24/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Economy, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 03:15 PM ET, 06/23/2011

Poll Watchers: Gas prices and the strategic oil reserve, Cantor and debt talks
By Scott Clement and Peyton Craighill
Strategic oil reserve – 75 percent say gas prices are an extremely or very important issue in a new Associated Press poll.

By Scott Clement and Peyton Craighill  |  03:15 PM ET, 06/23/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, Barack Obama, Congress

Posted at 10:42 AM ET, 05/25/2011

Poll: Republicans fear more debt, Democrats fear default
By Peyton M. Craighill
A new Post-Pew poll released Tuesday finds concerns about raising the debt limit running two ways.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:42 AM ET, 05/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Economy, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 10:53 AM ET, 04/29/2011

Poll Watchers: Tea party unfavorable, cutting the debt, GOP 2012 and the Royal Wedding
By Peyton M. Craighill
A daily round-up of public polling.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:53 AM ET, 04/29/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Barack Obama, Federal Budget Deficit, GOP nomination

Posted at 10:57 AM ET, 04/28/2011

Poll Watchers: Health care and the deficit, consumer confidence, Title IX and polling Hispanics
By Peyton M. Craighill
A daily round-up of public polling, including health care and the deficit, consumer confidence, Title IX and polling Hispanics.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:57 AM ET, 04/28/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, Immigration

Posted at 10:00 PM ET, 04/26/2011

More deficit concern, less hope about solving problem, Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll finds
By Jon Cohen and Peyton M. Craighill
There’s broad public skepticism that the U.S. will be able to significantly reduce the budget deficit over the next five years.

By Jon Cohen and Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:00 PM ET, 04/26/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 10:40 AM ET, 04/25/2011

Poll Watchers: How many Americans support Medicare cuts?
By Peyton M. Craighill
Two polls last week reported very different public reactions to cutting spending on Medicare. In one released Friday by CBS News and The New York Times, less than half — 45 percent — said they were unwilling to cut Medicare to reduce the deficit. But a Washington Post-ABC News poll earlier in the week showed 78 percent opposed to “cutting spending on Medicare” for a similar purpose. What gives?

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:40 AM ET, 04/25/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, Health care

Posted at 10:57 AM ET, 04/14/2011

Poll Watchers: Most important problem, tax time, Libya, mood of the country, Barry Bonds
By Peyton M. Craighill
A daily round-up of public polling.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:57 AM ET, 04/14/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, Barack Obama

Posted at 10:57 AM ET, 04/11/2011

Poll Watchers: Obama and the budget debate, health care reform
By Peyton M. Craighill
A daily round-up of public polling.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:57 AM ET, 04/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Barack Obama, Federal Budget Deficit, Health care

Posted at 10:57 AM ET, 04/11/2011

Poll Watchers: Budget debate fallout, Trump bump, Civil War continued and Mitt Romney
By Peyton M. Craighill
A daily round-up of national public opinion polling

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  10:57 AM ET, 04/11/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit, 2012 polls, GOP nomination

Posted at 05:40 PM ET, 03/30/2011

Poll Watchers: New polls on government shutdown, budget debate, GOP 2012
By Peyton M. Craighill
New polling on a possible governement shutdown, Obama’s approval ratings, polling in Florida, Republican primary standings, support for military action in Libya and new interest.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  05:40 PM ET, 03/30/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  2012 polls, Barack Obama, Federal Budget Deficit

Posted at 05:40 PM ET, 03/30/2011

Poll Watchers: Florida governor ratings, gas prices, Huckabee continues to lead, government shutdown
By Peyton M. Craighill
A review of polling on a potential government shutdown, Florida governor Rick Scott’s declining ratings, gas prices and Mike Huckabee continues to lead GOP field in name recognition.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  05:40 PM ET, 03/30/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Federal Budget Deficit, 2012 polls

Posted at 09:37 AM ET, 03/01/2011

The politics of blame, shutdown edition
By Peyton M. Craighill
People say they would apportion blame about evenly between the Obama administration and the Republicans in the event of a government shutdown. Some 36 percent in a new Washington Post poll conducted with the Pew Research Center say they'd blame Republicans and 35 percent Obama, with 17 percent volunteering that they'd blame both.

By Peyton M. Craighill  |  09:37 AM ET, 03/01/2011 |  Permalink  |  Comments ( 0)
Categories:  Congress, Federal Budget Deficit