….they don’t actually want to cut any thing.
James Joyner directs us to this post by Stan Collender:
Question 6 of this latest poll from Ipsos Public Affairs tells you all you need to know: No matter which political party the respondents identify with, there’s no majority for cutting any of the major areas of federal spending among these registered voters. In fact, there wasn’t even a majority for cutting the generic “other.”
Q.6. As you may know, the US federal budget has a significant deficit. Here are the main view, which of the following areas can we afford to cut back on? (Select all that apply)
All voters/Democrats/Republicans/Independents
Social Security 9%/6%/13%/6%
Medicare 10%/5%/16%/11%
Defense & the Military 35%/49%/22%/38%
Education 12%/6%/205/14%
Alternative energy development 31%/16%/49%/24%24%
Law enforcement 9%/9%/9%/12%
Other 28%/23%/36%25%
None 16%/19%/13%/19%
As You can see the only program that gets over a third supporting cuts is Defense and the Military.
So, closing the deficit will happen only if American politicians exercise bold leadership and make tough choices. I can’t even type that without giggling.
Yes, James – I couldn’t read it without giggling. And this comes on the day when our National debt hit 16 Trillion dollars.