Debt, Gov't Dysfunction Rise to Top of Americans' Issue List

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans' concerns about the federal budget deficit and government dysfunction rose high enough in January to knock unemployment out of the top two slots on Gallup's "most important problem" list for the first time since 2009.

These results are based on a Jan. 7-10 Gallup poll, conducted just after Washington lawmakers narrowly avoided the fiscal cliff by virtue of a resolution that in part postponed the deadline for legislated sequestration of spending until March 1. Additionally, a debt ceiling deadline looms within the next two months.

The poll finds 20% of Americans mentioning the federal budget deficit as the top problem, compared with 18% mentioning dissatisfaction with some aspect of government or government leaders, and 16% naming jobs or unemployment.

This distribution of open-ended responses to the "most important problem" question underscores a general shift from the dominance of concerns about the economy and unemployment to an increasing focus on problems more directly associated with government. The economy and unemployment had ranked as the top two problems each month since December 2009.

Now, the "dissatisfaction with government" percentage is as high as it has been since the Watergate days of 1974, although the precise ways in which these open-ended questions have been coded has changed somewhat during that time. The percentage mentioning the deficit as the top problem is as high as it has been since 1996.

The percentage of Americans mentioning unemployment as the top problem, on the other hand, is the lowest since December 2009. As recently as September 2011, 39% mentioned it.

Guns and Gun Control at 4% of Mentions, Same as in December

Four percent of Americans name issues relating to guns and gun control as the nation's top problem, the same as in last month's survey, which came in the immediate aftermath of the mass shootings at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. Four percent also mention taxes this month, the highest in over two years.

Republicans, Democrats Differ on Nation's Top Problem

Republicans and Democrats have significantly different responses to the "most important problem" question. The biggest difference is in terms of the federal budget deficit, mentioned by 30% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, compared with 12% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents. Democrats are more likely to mention dissatisfaction with government than are Republicans, and are slightly more likely to mention unemployment.

Bottom Line

The percentage of Americans naming the federal deficit and the way government operates as the top problems facing the country today are higher than they have been since the 1990s and the 1970s, respectively. The percentages mentioning the economy and unemployment, on the other hand, are lower than they have been in several years. These results suggest that average Americans are generally shifting their focus -- from worry about macroeconomic problems to worry about issues associated with the way government works.

These concerns may become even more salient in the weeks ahead. The federal government now faces a situation akin to the one in August 2011 -- with the amount of federal debt projected to exceed the mandated debt ceiling. Congress will soon need to act again to raise the debt ceiling. At about the same time, major cuts in federal spending for defense and domestic programs are scheduled to take place if Congress doesn't act on that front. Republican leaders have stressed that they want to tie spending cuts to any expansion of the debt ceiling, while President Obama has stressed the need to avoid defaulting on obligations at any cost.

These monthly "most important problem" updates don't provide direction from the public on exactly what Americans want their government to do to fix the problems cited. But Gallup's tracking provides clear evidence that Americans' concern about the debt and the way government operates is increasing.