News release: “The Peter G. Peterson Foundation’s July Fiscal Confidence Index, a monthly measure of public attitudes about the nation’s long-term debt and the efforts elected leaders are making to address America’s fiscal challenges, shows that Americans remain highly concerned about the nation’s fiscal situation. The Fiscal Confidence Index, modeled after the Consumer Confidence Index, is 41 (100 is neutral), indicating continuing negative public sentiment about America’s fiscal future. More than two-thirds of voters (68%) say that the country is on the wrong track when it comes to addressing the national debt, including a majority (53%) who feel strongly the country is off course. To address this problem, more than eight in ten Americans (83%) are calling for the President and Congress to spend more time on the national debt, with almost eight in ten (79%) agreeing that the national debt should be among the President and Congress’ top three priorities…The Fiscal Confidence Index measures public opinion about the national debt by asking six questions in three key areas:

• CONCERN: Level of concern and views about the direction of the national debt.
• PRIORITY: How high a priority addressing the debt should be for elected leaders.
• EXPECTATIONS: Expectations about whether the debt situation will get better or worse in the next few years.”