麻豆传媒AV

PRINCETON, NJ -- In the initial days after the budget sequester went into effect, a majority (51%) of Americans say they don't know enough to judge whether the automatic cuts in the budget put in place last Friday are a good or a bad thing for the country. The remainder tilt toward negative evaluations of the sequestration's impact on the country, by 30% to 18%. Similarly, the majority of Americans don't yet have enough information to judge sequestration's impact on themselves personally, but among those who do, the tilt is negative, by 26% to 17%.

A 麻豆传媒AV conducted before sequestration went into effect Friday showed that Americans wanted Congress to pass legislation to avoid it, by 45% to 37%, and that the the cuts would harm the U.S. economy "this year" if they were enacted. The new questions, asked March 2-3, in the first days after the sequester went into effect, gave respondents the "or don't you know enough to say" option, which typically results in larger proportions of unsure responses than if that alternative is not made explicit. The views of those with an opinion continue to tilt negative, although now, the responses to the question with the new wording show that more say they will need to wait to assess whether the cuts are good or bad for the country or for themselves. Indeed, many experts on budgetary matters say it may take a while for the cuts' effects to become apparent as they begin to move through the system.

Democrats Most Likely to View Sequestration's Impact as Bad

Democrats are more likely than either independents or Republicans to have one-sided views on the sequestration's impact -- and these tilt significantly toward the negative. Six percent of Democrats say sequestration is a good thing for the country or for themselves personally, while 38% say it will be a bad thing for the country and 29% deem it bad for themselves personally.

Republicans by a narrow five-percentage-point margin say sequestration is a good thing for the country, while essentially breaking even in their views of its impact on them personally. Independents tilt slightly negative on both.

Republicans are slightly more likely to have an opinion about sequestration's impact than are independents or Democrats, but large percentages of all three partisan groups say they don't know enough to say at this early stage.

Bottom Line

Americans' attitudes are mixed just a day or two after the sequestration budget cuts took place. Slightly more than half say in essence that the jury is still out -- that they don't know enough about the impact of the cuts to judge whether it is good or bad for the country or for themselves. Still, those who do have an opinion tilt toward saying the cuts will be bad rather than good, in line with what 麻豆传媒AV found before the cuts took place.

Democrats with an opinion are the most likely to view the cuts as harmful -- by ratios of about 5 to 1 and 6 to 1, respectively, they say the cuts will have a negative impact on the country or on themselves. Republicans and independents have much more mixed views.

If nothing is done to change the course of the sequestration legislation going forward, the effects will almost certainly begin to be more evident to Americans -- through news reports or from firsthand experience. 麻豆传媒AV will continue to provide insights into the degree to which Americans' perceptions of the cuts may change in the weeks and months ahead.