Voters Want the Government to Spend Now to Save the Future
By Kate Taylor Mighty
As the U.S. faces down a continuing pandemic, a decimated economy, and a mounting climate crisis, most debates on Capitol Hill can be reduced to the following question: should the federal government spend now to build a better world for future generations, or avoid adding to the national debt in the short and long term?
However tortured the congressional debate may seem, likely voters are clear on their answer: spend now to save the future. Data for Progress and Groundwork Collaborative polling found 56 percent of voters, including 53 percent of independents, preferred to secure a healthy economy and planet for future generations than limit the national debt for future taxpayers.
Voters are aligned with the economic consensus on federal spending that addresses major national problems like the pandemic, the climate crisis, or long-term unemployment. Economists and policy experts agree that public investments that raise living standards and enhance productivity and sustainability are better for our kids and grandkids than forgoing those investments in pursuit of a smaller national debt.
Black voters were particularly supportive of spending now to better set up future generations, with 73 percent approval. Black voters were also the most resistant of any demographic group to the idea of restraining spending to limit future national debt, with just 14 percent support.
Support for spending now found strong majorities among other demographics as well: 64 percent of Hispanic voters, 62 percent of voters under 45 years old, 58 percent of female voters, and 57 percent of voters without a college degree.
Black and Hispanic communities have suffered disproportionately throughout this pandemic and recession, facing higher rates of job loss, COVID cases, and COVID-related death – and lower likelihood of getting unemployment benefits than their white counterparts. Women of all races have been hit hard, losing jobs at a faster pace than men for the first time in national history, while taking on even more child care than usual as daycare facilities and schools remain shuttered.
Black and Hispanic communities are also disproportionately vulnerable to wildfires, heat waves, and sea-level rise linked to the climate crisis, and are already exposed to significantly more air pollution than they produce.
These inequities and unnecessary hardships make our economy fundamentally less stable and healthy. Our economy can only do as well as its most vulnerable participants. With interest rates low and economic activity stalled, our economy has far more to gain from federal investment in getting the economy working for everyone than it has to lose from a larger national debt.
Overall, a strong majority of voters believes that future generations will be better served by a healthy economy and planet than a small national debt. But those closest to the pain of the COVID, economic, and climate crises agree even more overwhelmingly that the time to invest in a better future is now.
Despite the jockeying on Capitol Hill, the real question isn't about the urgency of spending now – we all agree on that. Families have been struggling for nearly a year to make ends meet and cope as they endure a once-in-a-generation pandemic. The better question is when have we done enough?
Kate Taylor Mighty (@ktaylormighty) is the Senior Manager of Program & Strategy at Groundwork Collaborative.