The federal government raises so much tax revenue that it could cover interest and maturities on existing debt for a long time before the debt ceiling affected the government's ability to pay its obligations. So, I suspect a majority of CFA Charterholders responded this way because of the thin connection between a failure to raise the debt ceiling and the subsequent default on any debt. If the question were merely about default and ignored the debt ceiling, I suspect more Charterholders would have thought it more important.