New Research: Deficit Hawks Reflect the Views of the Wealthy, Not the Majority

[xchrom]

http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/new-research-deficit-hawks-reflect-views-wealthy-not-majority



***SNIP

On Key Budget Questions, the Wealthy Have Distinctive Priorities

The wealthy respondents to our survey expressed great concern about budget deficits:

Fully 87% called deficits a “very important problem” facing the United States, more than attributed such importance to unemployment, education or anything else on a list of eleven potential national challenges.

On an open-ended question that asked respondents to name the most important problem facing the country, a hefty 32% of the wealthy mentioned budget deficits or excessive government spending, far more than cited any other problem.

Only 11% of the wealthy mentioned unemployment or education as America’s top problem.

Wealthy respondents tilted toward cutting back – rather than expanding – federal government spending on Social Security and health care.

By contrast, in a national survey taken about the same time as our survey, only seven percent of all Americans mentioned deficits or the national debt as the most important problem, while 53% cited jobs and the economy as the top problem. Average Americans also leaned toward expanding rather than cutting back on major federal outlays for Social Security and health care.

[malaise]

1. Typical thoughless scumbags

Rec

[HiPointDem]

2. of course. give the average person a choice between deficit and mass unemployment, they'll

chose deficit.

give a financier the choice, he'll chose unemployment.

because he knows that he and his will not be among the unemployed.

[xchrom]

3. +1