Everyone wants to cut the budget and the Republicans are making it the center of their policy. As we have noted before there is a problem – the voters who want to cut the budget don’t actually want to cut anything.  Gallup’s most recent poll indicates that nothing has changed.

The only thing a majority want to cut is Foreign Aid which makes up less than one percent of the budget.  Even more striking was with the exception of  funding for the arts and sciences and military and national defense there was less than a ten percent difference between Democrats and Republicans.

As I have noted before if you want to balance the budget you have two choices:

• Slash Military Spending and Medicare – or
• Raise Taxes

Both are political third rails.  Cutting spending and reducing the deficit would appear to be a political no win for politicians of either party.

Note:

Even foreign aid is a problem – Israel gets the lion’s share.  I wonder how cutting that will go over.

Cross posted at Newshoggers