Poll: 79% fear U.S. economy could collapse

Imagine how grim the numbers would be if ObamaCare hadn’t solved the problem of rising health-care costs.

The latest Fox News poll finds that 79 percent of voters think it’s possible the economy could collapse, including large majorities of Democrats (72 percent), Republicans (84 percent) and independents (80 percent).

Just 18 percent think the economy is “so big and strong it could never collapse.”

Moreover, 78 percent of voters believe the federal government is “larger and more costly” than it has ever been before, and by nearly three-to-one more voters think the national debt (65 percent) is a greater potential threat to the country’s future than terrorism (23 percent)…

Three in 10 American voters (30 percent) say they are comfortable with the size and role of the federal government right now, while 65 percent say the government has become too big and “is restricting American freedoms.”

Sizable majorities of Republicans (84 percent) and independents (74 percent) think the government is too big, while just over half of Democrats (51 percent) are okay with the size of government.

Eh. This is irresistible as a talking point against The One, but after the financial crisis, 10% unemployment, and now the daily spectacle in Greece, how useful is a poll where the choice is between “it’ll never collapse” and “it could”? More interesting are the numbers on size of government. This is another reason why I don’t worry about that Gallup poll showing a bounce for O-Care: Ultimately, the warm and fuzzies being felt at the thought of insuring the uninsured will run head-first into anxiety about government bloat, unless Democrats can come up with a way to argue that a massive new federal entitlement is somehow going to shrink government too. They try, sort of — there’s a reason Orszag was so wedded to the talking point that ObamaCare will bend the curve — but eventually they’ll either raise taxes and anger that 65 percent or not raise taxes and anger them by driving up the deficit. Although, given the sheer magnitude by which this thing could overshoot cost estimates, I suppose higher taxes and higher deficits are possible. But the upside? ObamaCare just might bring about peace in the Middle East. Seriously!

For your viewing pleasure, here’s Reason TV interviewing an economics professor whose skepticism about Keynes clearly marks him as a racist.

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