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CBS Poll: Most Americans Don’t Care That Much About The Deficit

President Obama meets with the leaders of his bipartisan debt commission, Democrat Erskine Bowles, on left, and former Republican Sen. Alan Simpson, on right.

For all the recent frenzy over reducing the deficit, a new poll by CBS News shows that only 4% of Americans consider it the biggest problem faced by the country.

Respondents were asked: “Of all the problems facing this country today, which one do you most want the new Congress to concentrate on first when it begins in January?”

56% of respondents said Congress should focus on the economy and jobs 14% said health care, while only 4% said the budget deficit and national debt. Immigration, education, wars in Iraq or Afghanistan, and taxes each got 2%, while 9% said other.

The results didn’t vary much when split among parties. 59% of Republicans, 57% of Democrats, and 52% of Independents said the economy and jobs should be the top priority. 6% of Republicans, 4% of Democrats, and 4% of Independents were similarly concerned about the deficit and the national debt.

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