Posted on 01/15/2011 6:35:37 PM PST by Halo-JM
Salvanto. (Credit: CBS)
A new CBS News poll finds that Americans strongly prefer cutting spending to raising taxes to reduce the federal deficit. While 77 percent prefer to cut spending, just nine percent call for raising taxes. Another nine percent want to do both.
Yet most Americans could not volunteer a program they'd be willing to see cut in order to reduce the deficit - only 38 percent could name a program they would support cutting. The top responses were military/defense (six percent), Social Security/Medicare (four percent) and welfare/food stamps (four percent).
However, Americans are more willing to consider cuts when presented with specific ideas, as the chart above illustrates. The most popular ideas for reducing the deficit are to reduce Social Security benefits for the wealthy, reduce the money allocated to projects in their own community, reduce farm subsidies and reduce defense spending. More than 50 percent supported reductions in each of those programs.
(Credit: CBS)
Democrats and independents were more likely to favor cuts to defense spending than Republicans, only 39 percent of whom favored cuts there to reduce the deficit. Republicans were most likely to favor reducing money for projects in their area (73 percent), reducing social security for the wealthy (66 percent), reducing farm subsidies (58 percent) and reducing money for student loans (54 percent.)
Democrats were most likely to support reducing social security for the wealthy (60 percent), reducing defense spending (58 percent) and reducing farm subsidies (55 percent).
Forty-seven percent say it will be necessary to cut programs that benefit people like them to reduce the deficit. Forty-one percent say it can be reduced without cutting programs that benefit them.
Seventy-two percent say that deficits can be acceptable in emergency situations and when kept manageable. Eighteen percent say deficits are never acceptable, while seven percent say the government should run whatever deficits are necessary.
Most Americans do not know exactly how the government spends its money. For example, when asked what percent of the budget goes to earmarks, 41 percent said they make up less than 20 percent of the budget, 13 percent said 20-50 percent, 4 percent said more than 50 percent and 42 percent didn't know. Earmarks actually make up less than one percent of the budget.
Read the Complete Poll (PDF)
This poll was conducted among a random sample of 1,178 adults nationwide, interviewed by telephone January 5 - 9, 2010. Phone numbers were dialed from RDD samples of both standard land-lines and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
http://www.youtube.com/user/Kbaschke?feature=mhum#p/a/u/0/g_YQpNz53rY
Abolish the EPA and the resulting recovery in jobs and business would pay the keep of all the rest. I’m not advocating keeping any of the rest, but, nothing has destroyed the U.S. like the EPA.
2011 numbers in millions.
Department of Defense-Military 723,703
Department of Health and Human Services 926,236
Interest on Treasury Debt Securities (Gross) 464,706
Social Security Administration 789,034
Comes to 2,903,679
Also do you want to have NO department of veterans affairs? No office of personnel management? No General Services Administration?
Say it loud FRiend.
Yes. I have a question. When are you going to get serious? Since we can’t cut servicing the national debt, the rest must be cut by 49%. So what do you think should be cut?
Try 49%.
I was just getting started, geesh
Cut everything. Eliminate the least essential. No more funding global warming plays, no more foriegn aid, deep cuts in welfare, eliminate large sections of the federal government (Dept Energy, Dept Education etc)
" The government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend upon the support of Paul[!!!]"
The bulb makers and distribtors are happy. However, this points out the dilemna. Some one, eg. workers and manufacturers,is making money on such things and it is necessary to know how deep the hurt can go i.e.unintended consequences. This is not to argue that government costs are necessary for benefit or even actually beneficial for all people. People get angry at having to give to other people like scammers, system milkers, make work politicians, etc.
The bulb makers and distribtors are happy. However, this points out the dilemna. Some one, eg. workers and manufacturers,is making money on such things and it is necessary to know how deep the hurt can go i.e.unintended consequences. This is not to argue that government costs are necessary for benefit or even actually beneficial for all people. People get angry at having to give to other people like scammers, system milkers, make work politicians, etc.
Across the board 20% government employee cut, cut the limit for welfare and food stamps in 1/2, cut future socail security benefits and 5%-15% cuts to current recipents depending on income level.From there we should look into just what exactly we are funding.Road repairs good/paths for turtles unnecessary etc.I’m sure each dept has atleast 30% or more of programs they pay for that are not necessary.For example Headstrat is a massive waste that has been proven to not do a thing excp provide daycare for welfare Moms, end it now.
They didn’t ask me for a list.
CUT THE OTHER GUY'S GOVERNMENT BENEFITS.
That, of course, is the way the left has created an impossible-to-cut mountain of government programs.
They have insured that nobody will allow their own benefits to be cut without the affected beneficiaries raising seven kinds of hell.
You got that right!!!!
The regime knew this when they started the destruction of America. It's all part of their Marxist genius to destroy the country.Instead of incremental destruction which has worked moderately well for them. They tried to do it all at once through obamacare, tarp, stimulus, etc,it succeeded.
Now its up to us to see if we can reverse a course that has been well played by some of the best commie/Marxist minds in the biz.
Their is only one solution that I see.And its a long shot that this will ever happen.
The entire Federal budget has to be scrapped and a President Palin needs to start over and reinvent government.
We need to fund only what is in the Constitution and little else.
Some departments should be combined within others and some scrapped all together.
The true functions of govt., keeping the populace safe, securing the currency,borders, and few other things should be emphasized and the rest left to charity or local governments. The federal govt. does 80% more than it should. That has to end!
We don’t have a 2011 budget yet. They are just going to have to cut it until it fits, or collect more in taxes. I’m just telling you what I think the GOP should do. You can’t cut medicare or social security, and most of that is covered by the trust funds anyway. You can’t cut interest on the federal debt. That leaves everything else. I would not cut the military, since that is the primary purpose of the federal government, but if that’s what you’ve gotta do to make it fit, then do it.
Innumeracy is rampant everywhere. I get the feeling we are seriously screwed with no good options left.
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