Americans broadly do not understand how the debt ceiling works, according to the latest United Technologies/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll.
More than twice as many Americans believe lifting the limit means authorizing more borrowing “for future expenditures” than believe it means “paying off the debts [the federal government] has already accumulated”—62 percent to 28 percent, respectively.
The reality is that lifting the debt limit allows the Treasury Department to borrow money to pay for bills that Congress has already rung up. [cont.]
Shane Goldmacher, National Journal