This is an extended comment on "Gallup: Republicans and independents want debt compromise".
Overall, the poll tells us that Americans are more aware of the supposed consequences of not reaching an agreement to increase the "debt limit". They are more aware of the consequences of an abrupt alteration in the manner of government finance. The poll also indicates the desire of the people to stop the "overspending" of government and the desire to shift taxes to the more affluent. The poll does not tell us where (in what areas) the people believe this "overspending" is being done or at what income level, taxation should be employed to reduce the deficit.
More below the fold.
The primary "takeaway" from this poll is the rise in the level of concern over hitting the limit -- the consequences of a default or draconian cuts. That is by design of the president and the Democratic party and it is correct and meaningful. To say that the Democrats and the president have not been doing a good job on battling the Republican nut cases is an error. On the contrary, the changing public sentiment is a testimonial to the leadership skills of the party and the president as well as an indictment of the insanity that is the Republican "right". The vote on the latest insanity (the drastic cuts and a balanced budget amendment) will divide the electorate even more and provide more fuel to the already growing distrust of the Republican party. Barack Obama is playing the middle and he will win this ideological war. In the process the nation will be moved to the right. But that is a consequence of losing the House, and not a harbinger of future doom. For in this nation the fat lady never sings. We have to take our lumps while exposing the ridiculousness of the rightarded.
The question is of educational possibilities. Is it possible to educate the people while the mass media continues to spout lies about macro economics and government function? It is NOT possible to stop the lies and the misdirections of the media. So the messaging must be very clearly couched in terms of "middle class prosperity". We note that "help the old and the ill" works much better than "help the poor". Continuing to pine for some sort of "fairness" in the media or in the general economy while the "right" are in control of the House of Representatives is nothing but whining. The "moonbats" believe that this "whining" is somehow going to convince the electorate that the Republicans are mean and that Democrats will be more fair and balanced. The problem is that such a ploy only works with less than half the people. There are a great number of the electorate that BELIEVE in oversimplified justice. And it is not possible to educate the electorate concerning real justice in anything less than 10 years. Try as you will, the simple form will be drilled into the minds of the masses continually by those who benefit from the exercise. There will be (for instance) NO distinction between taxing UNEARNED income as opposed to that which is actually EARNED. The simple phrase claiming the "higher taxes will kill the economy" will be repeated over and over again. And the electorate (and many economists) will eat it.
But again..... There is nothing to be done for it in the short term. "When you are up to yer ass in alligators it is not likely that you will focus on your initial objective of draining the swamp". And that is where the electorate currently lives.
There was a small hope: It came from Ron Paul and was endorsed by Dean Baker. The proposal was that the FED could simply destroy some of the Treasury Notes and bills on its balance sheet thus reducing the national debt. Such destruction is not directly harmful to any private citizens or any foreign governments. The money to purchase these assets from the public came from the money fairy and the money fairy simply isn't a member of the world or national economy. In recognition of this, the LEGAL definition of the national debt should be changed to SUBTRACT the assets held by the FED. But here again, you can't make people understand that. They KNOW that money us sacred. And such a legal change would require an action by the Republican House. The FED CAN however, burn the assets in a furnace and there is NOTHING the congress can do about it. The FED can also continue to buy T-bonds from the public as the Treasury sells the Treasury bonds to the public just as was the case with QE2 (quantitative easing II). If there is not an agreement on the debt "crises" I look for the FED to take the actions I have described. It will REQUIRE legislative action (NEW LAWS) to "reign in" the FED. That is a game changer that puts the Senate and the President in charge.