( - promoted by Chris Bowers)
You wouldn't know it from our political discourse, but cutting government spending is overwhelmingly unpopular.
The following table shows public support for cutting certain types of government spending (large PDF, p. 15-16) compared to the percentage of that type of spending within the overall federal budget:
Support for cutting federal government spending
| Spending Type |
Federal Budget |
Support for cuts |
| Social Security |
19.6% |
2% |
| Military |
18.7% |
18% |
| Unemployment |
16.1% |
15% |
| Medicare |
12.8% |
6% |
| Other health care* |
10.4% |
10% |
| Interest on Debt |
4.6% |
10% |
| State Department |
1.5% |
28% |
| Veterans |
1.5% |
2% |
| Anti-terrorism |
1.2% |
17% |
| Agriculture |
0.7% |
12% |
| Energy |
0.7% |
14% |
| Crime / Justice |
0.7% |
10% |
| Environment |
0.3% |
16% |
| Science |
0.2% |
14% |
* Defined as Medicaid and Department of Health and Human Services. General "health care" numbers from Pew poll used.
Americans are overwhelmingly opposed to all types of spending cuts. Outside of the State department and NASA, which account for less than 2% of all federal government spending, at least five out of six Americans do not want to see the federal government cut spending in any other area.
More than five out of six Americans are opposed to cutting 98% of the federal budget. Most don't want to cut the remaining 2%, either. Keep that in mind whenever you hear politicians calling for spending cuts, and polls claiming that voters want spending cuts.
Also, keep in mind that voters don't actually know what the federal government is spending money on. From a Rasmussen reports poll released today:
Budget documents provided by the Obama administration show that in Fiscal Year 2009 50% of all federal spending went to national defense, Social Security and Medicare. When the cost of veterans affairs are included, that number grows to 53%. Five percent (5%) paid interest on the federal debt, and 42% was used for everything else in the budget.
However, a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that only 35% of voters believe that the majority of federal spending goes to just defense, Social Security and Medicare. Forty-four percent (44%) say it's not true, and 20% are not sure.
Voters claim, in the abstract to want spending cuts. However, they don't know what the government spending money on. When given a possible list of cuts, Americans overwhelmingly reject them all (with the possible exception of NASA).
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