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Voters ready for Congress to cut debt

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Voters, it seems, are confused. While the majority say that it’s too early to cut back on unemployment benefits, despite the rising national debt, another poll indicates that the majority of Americans also think it is ‘very important’ to cut back the national debt.

The poll, from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, found that 70% of voters surveyed want Congress to reduce the national debt soon.

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About 60% of those surveyed wanted Congress to shrink the debt through spending cuts. Another 35% wanted to see a combination of spending cuts and tax increases.

“Our leaders have not candidly described the amount of pain that will be involved making the very large policy changes necessary to get the budget deficit under control,” said committee co-Chairman Rudolph Penner, a fellow at the Urban Institute, in a press release. “The huge spending cuts, especially those in Social Security and Medicare, necessary to avoid any tax increase at all, seem quite implausible politically.’

-- Alana Semuels

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