美国国家公共电台 NPR--Americans want Congress to deal with the debt ceiling. How to do it is complicated

Americans want Congress to deal with the debt ceiling. How to do it is complicated

Transcript¹

American voters lean in favor of raising the debt ceiling, but are divided on how to pay down the national debt, the latest NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds.

By a 52%-to-46% margin², registered voters said they support raising the debt ceiling. They divide along party lines with 8 in 10 Democrats³ in favor and 7 in 10 Republicans opposed. Independents are split.

That represents a big jump in support from 2011, the last time Congress faced a pitched fight over raising the debt ceiling. Only a quarter of voters in a Marist poll supported raising the debt ceiling back then. The country had its credit downgraded as a result of the fight.

"The political brinksmanship of recent months highlights what we see as America's governance and policymaking becoming less stable, less effective, and less predictable than what we previously⁵ believed," the credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's wrote in its report then.

But in addition to the political instability over the debt ceiling, S&P also cited the country's long-term inability to control the national debt, which has continued to balloon since then. The debt is now more than $30 trillion, more than double where it was in 2011.

Like members of Congress, Americans are divided on the best approach to reduce that debt.

While 7 in 10 people, including a majority of Republicans, say they want their representatives to compromise to find solutions, there was a sharp split on how people want to see Congress try to close the debt.

Half (50%) said they favored mostly cutting programs and services, but almost as many (46%) said they preferred to see taxes and fees raised. A majority of independents sided with three-quarters of Republicans, who said programs should be cut.

But that doesn't leave much room for agreement — or making up the revenue. Entitlements — Social Security and Medicare — make up more than half of the federal debt, but, as was highlighted at the State of the Union, this Congress has no interest in cutting those programs.

Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has said those cuts are "off the table," though some Republican current and potential presidential candidates have floated the idea of making cuts to the programs.

Republicans are also not in favor of cutting the defense⁶ budget, which makes up about half of the country's discretionary spending. Without touching⁷ either of those cuts in the pie, there's not enough left in discretionary spending to make government function or make a significant dent⁴ in the debt.

A turning tide with younger generations

The percentage saying to raise taxes and fees overall is up 10 points in the last decade. And notably⁸, it's younger Americans who are are the most likely to say they're in favor of raising taxes and fees, according to the NPR poll.

They've jumped by double digits⁹ in their support in that time.

Younger adults are also driving support for the minimum wage to be raised to $15 an hour — 7 in 10 members of GenZ and Millennials support raising it, the highest of any age group in the poll.

Overall, two-thirds of respondents said they are in favor of raising the current minimum wage — which sits at only $7.25 an hour and hasn't been raised since 2009 — to $15 an hour.

Other priorities

Funding the war in Ukraine: A plurality — 4 in 10 say funding for the Ukrainians has been about right, but almost half of Republicans now say the U.S. is providing too much support.

The percentage of Republicans against more Ukraine funding has steadily¹⁰ increased over the past year since the war began. This is shaping up to become a real issue not just in Congress but also on the campaign trail, as Trump¹¹ voters were the group most likely of all tested to say the U.S. is providing too much support.

Investigating the president's son: Another Republican priority is investigating Hunter Biden. Almost 6 in 10 said they support a congressional investigation¹² into his business dealings. So Republicans are very much going to feel they have the wind at their backs in going forward with that issue.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

3 democrats   

n.民主主义者，民主人士( democrat的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The Democrats held a pep rally on Capitol Hill yesterday. 民主党昨天在国会山召开了竞选誓师大会。
• The democrats organize a filibuster in the senate. 民主党党员组织了阻挠议事。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 dent   

n.凹痕，凹坑；初步进展

参考例句：

• I don't know how it came about but I've got a dent in the rear of my car.我不知道是怎么回事，但我的汽车后部有了一个凹痕。
• That dent is not big enough to be worth hammering out.那个凹陷不大，用不着把它锤平。

5 previously   

adv.以前，先前（地）

参考例句：

• The bicycle tyre blew out at a previously damaged point.自行车胎在以前损坏过的地方又爆开了。
• Let me digress for a moment and explain what had happened previously.让我岔开一会儿，解释原先发生了什么。

6 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

7 touching   

adj.动人的，使人感伤的

参考例句：

• It was a touching sight.这是一幅动人的景象。
• His letter was touching.他的信很感人。

8 notably   

adv.值得注意地，显著地，尤其地，特别地

参考例句：

• Many students were absent,notably the monitor.许多学生缺席，特别是连班长也没来。
• A notably short,silver-haired man,he plays basketball with his staff several times a week.他个子明显较为矮小，一头银发，每周都会和他的员工一起打几次篮球。

9 digits   

n.数字( digit的名词复数 )；手指，足趾

参考例句：

• The number 1000 contains four digits. 1000是四位数。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The number 410 contains three digits. 数字 410 中包括三个数目字。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

10 steadily   

adv.稳定地；不变地；持续地

参考例句：

• The scope of man's use of natural resources will steadily grow.人类利用自然资源的广度将日益扩大。
• Our educational reform was steadily led onto the correct path.我们的教学改革慢慢上轨道了。

11 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

12 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。