What do American people think about government spending?
Economic axis · 🇺🇸 the United States · measured continuously, published only above 100 responses.
30% of American respondents take the position “A government should borrow to keep services going, rather than cut them.”, against 50% for “A government should balance its books, even if that means cutting services.”, with 20% choosing neither. n = 104, margin of error ±9.7, weighted to the United States's adult population.
Where the United States sits on economic
What is measured about the United States on this axis. These are facts about the country, not what its people think about them — that is the part of this page waiting on a sample.
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Tax revenue
IMF Government Finance Statistics · 2024
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10.8% |
lower than most countries
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Health spending
WHO Global Health Expenditure · 2023
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16.7% |
among the highest in the world
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Income per person
World Bank / ICP · 2025
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$76,931 |
among the highest in the world
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Ranked against every country with a published figure for the same series. Sources: World Bank World Development Indicators, which republish UN, ILO, UNESCO, WHO, SIPRI, IISS and UNODC data.
The questions that bear on government spending
Asked as a forced choice between two written positions, in randomised order, with the sides flipped for half of respondents.
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A · A government should balance its books, even if that means cutting services.
B · A government should borrow to keep services going, rather than cut them.
World, unweighted: 25% A ·
22% neither ·
53% B · n = 3884
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30% B 🇺🇸 n=104 |
A national figure appears only once that nation clears 100 responses on the question. The world column is a raw count of every answer received and is not post-stratified — it is shown because withholding it would say less, not more.
Asked another way
The same question, as people put it.
- The united states public opinion on government spending
- Government spending poll the united states
- What do american people think about government spending
- What percentage of american people support government spending
Each has one answer on this page, and it is the same answer.