Public Opinion Snapshot: Public Balks at Spending Cuts

[Joanne98]

Conservatives are fighting amongst themselves about how deep spending cuts should be this year. But they seem blithely unaware that there is little public support for spending cuts, much less deep cuts.

Consider these data from a just-released Pew poll. When asked about a number of possible areas where the federal budget could be cut the public shied away from decreasing spending in area after area. Under 30 percent called for spending cuts in 16 of 18 areas with the least enthusiasm for cuts in veterans’ benefits (6 percent), education (11 percent), Medicare (12 percent), Social Security (12 percent), public schools (13 percent), and college financial aid (16 percent).



Nor is the public enthusiastic about spending cuts to balance state budgets. Just 18 percent support decreasing funding for K-12 schools, 21 percent support decreasing health care services, and 31 percent support decreasing funding for roads and public transportation. And support is still only split (47-47) on cutting the pension plans of public employees despite the relentless barrage of conservative attacks on public-sector workers.



Continued>>>
http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2011/02/snapshot021411.html

[xchrom]

1. the public will have to learn to do something other than give it's opinion.

because neither dems nor repukes care the publics opinion any more.

[Joanne98]

2. Yep

[ohtransplant]

7. wish I could recommend a post.

This point could be expanded greatly and should be.

Cuts could be made judiciously.

The things with the most fat are barely on the table.

Pork, patronage, corporate welfare and fraud aren't line items but consume a growing portion of the budget.

As you suggested, our pols will only care when people take action in a significant way. Lacking that it's business as usual - stick it to the usual suspects, the sick, the poor, the elderly, working people, etc...

When will we as a people learn...?

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

3. Not surprisingly, the "evil pensions" meme is taking root.

Idiots.

[Possumpoint]

4. Wake Up, Pull Your Head Out

of where ever you've buried it. Read the numbers, face the music. Spending 1-1/2 times your income or more for an extended period of time will come back and bite you in the hind parts. $14,000,000,000,000.00 in debt and it's closer to $20 T when you include SS, Medicare and government penision obligations. In the near future the entire proceeds from personal income tax (at present $2.4 T a year)will be require to pay the interest on the national debt.

Cuts must be made and they'll hurt. People have become use and expect to recieve directly and indirectly, government largeness. Like the drains on an electric grid, a little here, a little there, is no big deal but it all adds up to the system being strained. Then the electric company resorts to brownouts, then black outs to preveint meltdowns.

If we don't make the necessary cuts now and restore sanity to the financial house we'll experience the meltdown. If we ever experience that, the cuts will be painful indeed.

[Bluenorthwest]

8. This OP is not about cuts v no cuts but about priorities in cutting

We could cut the tax breaks for the Superrich, we could cut the wars. Cutting off our noes to fund our faces is just daft, and will not work.

[Possumpoint]

9. I Agree

I want the wars stopped. I want the Empire collapsed. I want the troops bought home and an analysis made as to what level of troops and material do we need to truly defend this country, but that's not enough. There isn't enough money in the system to do every feel good effort being funded now. The budget must be balanced and the debt paid off. Raise the taxes as necessaray. Rescind the Bush tax cuts now. Take the ceiling off SS taxes. Do what is necessary to bring fiscal sanity back. Make the cuts, even the painful ones to do the job.

[KharmaTrain]

5. The Only Time It Will Matter...

Is that small window between the time the money from the big donors is collected and the votes are needed (September and October of next year). Most politicians only care about what's in their accounts right now and pandering to those who don't give a rat's ass about the poor and working class.

[babylonsister]

6. Rec'd. But rethugs are sticking their fingers in their ears and going

lalalalala, I can't hear you. :(