The vast majority of Adults 18+ (72.5%) are not confident that the government will ever pay off all its debt, according to the latestAmerican Pulse™ Surveyof 5,243 respondents. 11.8% think it is possible while 15.8% don’t know. Further, nearly half (49.8%) don’t think the most recent debt ceiling bill will be able to fix the national debt problem. 14.2% believe the debt ceiling bill will fix the situation, while 36.0% are unsure.

It appears most Americans are confident with who to blame for the gloomy state of the economy. Over half hold Congress responsible for the weak economy and dismal stock market. Nearly half (46.3%) blame both the House and Senate for the credit rating downgrade to AA:

Who is to blame for the weak economy?
Both the House and Senate: 52.5%
Obama Administration: 34.3%
Other: 13.2%

Who is to blame for the weak stock market?
Both the House and Senate: 51.5%
Obama Administration: 31.1%
Other: 17.3%

Who is to blame for the credit rating downgrade to AA?
Both the House and Senate: 46.3%
Obama Administration: 34.4%
Other: 19.3%

Source: American Pulse™ Survey, August-2011

Although Americans assign most of the blame to Congress, they still keep the President in their sights. About one-third blames the Obama Administration for the current economic condition.

Americans also hold the media responsible for spreading negative sentiment regarding the financial crisis. 61.2% say the media created a debt ceiling frenzy with their coverage. 23.2% disagree and 15.5% don’t know. However, almost half (49.4%) do not blame the media for drops in the stock market. 3 in 10 (31.3%) do and 19.2% aren’t sure.

Other Key Findings:

• Over the next six months, nearly half (49.1%) expect the economy to get somewhat or significantly worse. 15.9% are optimistic that the economy will get better while 35.0% think it will stay about the same.
• 73.2% of Americans are expecting food prices to rise over the next six months. 67.5% predict the same for gasoline and 61.9% expect to pay higher prices for clothing.
• More than 4 in 10 (44.2%) had to cut back or cancel a vacation this summer. 31.5% didn’t have anything scheduled and fewer than 1 in 4 (24.3%) proceeded as planned.
• 86.3% believe teenagers and young adults are addicted to technology. 33.6% admit that they themselves are the addicts.