Americans want few specific spending cuts

[memphis]

http://www.gallup.com/poll/145790/Americans-Oppose-Cuts-Education-Social-Security-Defense.aspx

[krazen1211]

I really wish they would categorize these polls by the amount of taxes people actually pay.

[Sam Spade]

In other news, sky is blue, Pope still Catholic.  Also tells you that a real big resolution of these tensions is about to come.

[Bull Moose Base]

Foreign aid is very small cut of the budget but what it reveals is the obvious: most people are largely selfish.  They don't want spending cut on things that could affect them nor their own taxes raised.  What I think this is leading to is, to be realistic, is more redistribution of wealth because simply, the rich are outnumbered.  Republicans have been skilled at blocking that: convincing some lower classes that lower taxes for the rich and corporations is their own interest (this won't be as easy as the economy recovers), branding the whole idea with a bad name: socialism (will lose its effect), or pushing cultural buttons to get people to set aside their economic interest (those questions are slowly being settled to the point where they too lose their muscle).  I think they've painted themselves into a corner and that stuff will grow less effective.

They starved the beast with Bush tax cuts and the wars, then sounded the alarm incessantly on the deficit.  Repealing the cuts for everyone but the richest will be politically difficult.  For the rich? Pretty easy.  If we're still short on revenue down the line, that'll be the model and the rich will get another tax hike before the lower 98 give themselves one.

You also have some Republicans (Pawlenty, Daniels) suggesting cutting social security benefits for the rich.  This too will be a relatively easy sell.  (I expect Obama to be on board with it in a limited way by the end of the year.)  In many ways, at present, the GOP seems to have outmaneuvered Obama.  You have him last night calling for a spending freeze, talking about tort reform, mocking government's inefficiency.  But in the long run, I think the GOP themselves have laid the groundwork for the country to move in the direction of more wealth redistribution.  Though in reality, at best, all it will probably amount to is a very slight slowing of the wealth redistribution upward that's been going on for the past 30 years.

[angus]

Foreign aid is very small cut of the budget but what it reveals is the obvious: most people are largely selfish. 

Or ignorant.  What if the pollster first said, before asking the questions, that government-to-government transfers represent about 1% of the overall federal budget, arts funding represents less than one-tenth of one percent, while Defense and Social Security represent about 20% each.  Then ask the question.  I wonder if you'd get the same result. 

[Associate Justice PiT]

     I'm amazed that even that many people are willing to make the cuts to Medicare & Social Security. I would have expected those two to hover around 25% in favor of budget cuts.

[Franzl]

And obviously a similarly small number is in favor of tax increases.

[Napoleon]

Are you forgetting how republicans operate? All you need is a "majority of a majority" to legislate.

[tpfkaw]

A more accurate depiction of that chart:

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Rightfully ignoring Wormy's rampant generalisations, yet again...

Typically, the things people are generally happy to cut are the ones that would have a microscopic effect on the Budget bottom-line.

They want to cut spending, but nothing that involves "me" now... or in the future.... so they want to cut the deficit, but cut nothing, and don't want tax increases...

...people really are dense aren't they?

[Badger]

A more accurate depiction of that chart:

"Edgy!"

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Are you forgetting how republicans operate? All you need is a "majority of a majority" to legislate.

On some issues, such as minimum wage, they don't even have a majority of a majority of a majority.