CBS Ne ws Poll For release: Monday July 18, 2011 6:30 pm EDT

The De bt Ceilin g Debate C ont inues Ju ly 15- 17, 20 11

•

Americans are now divided on whether the debt c eiling should be raised; 46% think it should be, while 49% think it should not. But three in four Americans would prefer to see an agreement they do not fully support than for the U.S. to go into default (14%).

•

At the same time, there is some skeptic ism about what would happen if the debt ceiling is not raised – 51% think t he U.S. would probably not default on its debts. However, there is growing concern about what would happen to the U.S. economy and the stock market -- nearly half now thinks a severe downturn would be very likely.

•

43% approve of how President B arack Obam a is handling the debt ceiling talks, but just 31% approve of the Democrats in Congress and only 21% approve of how the Republicans in Congress are handling the negotiations. 60% see the President as really trying to come up with a n agreement; just 32% say the same for Republicans in Congress.

•

Majorities think the President and Congressional Republicans and Democrats should compromise their positions to get something accomplished. 66% think an agreement should include both spending cuts and tax increases.

What To Do

Support for raising the debt ceiling has increased 22 points since last month, and Americans are now more closely divided on the iss ue. 46% now say the debt c eiling should be raised because otherwise the country could default on its loans, causing severe problems for the U.S. economy. Last month, only 24% fav ored increasing the debt ceiling. 49% say it should not be raised (down from 69% in June) because the country owes too much money already, and raising it will cause long term consequences.

Should t he De bt Ceiling b e Ra ised?