Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters nationwide believe increased government spending leads to inflation. A Scott Rasmussen survey found that only 14% disagree and 27% are not sure.
Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Republicans see a connection between spending and inflation. Democrats, by a 45% to 21% margin, tend to agree. Among Independent voters, 45% believe more government spending leads to inflation while 11% do not.
These numbers help explain why just 22% of voters want Congress and the President to increase federal spending next year. Thirty-nine percent (39%) want spending to be cut and 21% would like it to remain about the same. That finding reflects a marked change from a year ago when just 14% of voters wanted the government to stop spending more money.
Among voters with a postgraduate degree, 42% want the government to increase spending while 36% would prefer spending cuts. Among all other voters, just 18% want more government spending and 40% are opposed.
The survey was conducted while the U.S. Senate was debating an infrastructure bill that will increase both federal spending and deficits. Additionally, the Senate is expected to soon take up a much larger spending bill through the budget reconciliation process.
Thirty-two percent (32%) of voters believe more government spending helps the economy while 38% believe it hurts. Over the past several decades, American voters have generally been even more negative concerning the impact of government spending.
It is possible that the pandemic has brought about a fundamental change in perceptions. However, it is also possible that these numbers indicate the beginning of a return to more normal skepticism about the role of government.
Other data shows that 53% of voters believe tax hikes are bad for the economy.
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Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left more than seven years ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Methodology
The survey of 1,200 Registered Voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen from August 4-9, 2021. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Respondents were selected from a list of Registered Voters and through a process of Random Digital Engagement. Certain quotas were applied, and the sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of Registered Voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
