Survey: Many conflicted on gov't spending cuts

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By TOM RAUM

WASHINGTON (AP) - As President Barack Obama and lawmakers spar over huge federal deficits, they're confronted by a classic contradiction: Most Americans want government austerity, a survey shows, but they also want increased spending on a host of popular programs: education, crime fighting, health care, Social Security, the environment and more. Less for defense, space and foreign aid.

The newly released General Social Survey asked people whether they believe spending in specific categories is "too much,""too little" or "about right." It covers the public's shifting priorities from 1973, when Richard Nixon was president, through 2012 with Obama in the White House.

"Despite a dislike of taxes, more people have always favored increases in spending than cuts," wrote the survey's director, Tom W. Smith, of the independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago.

While people's priorities shift over the years, they've not changed on one category. Foreign aid has been stuck firmly in last place since the survey began. Last year, 65 percent of those surveyed thought there was "too much," 25 percent checked "about right" and a slim 11 percent said "too little." The numbers are not much changed from 1973 - when 73 percent said too much on foreign aid, 22 percent just right and 5 percent too little.

FULL STORY AT LINK.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130308/DA4T6SNO1.html

---

[cstanleytech]

1. Well the answer is to cut defense and combine agencies and programs like

for example just roll the VA into medicare to save administrative costs.
As for the costs to defense that money should be put where it should have been put long ago which is our infrastructure which congress has let lapse greatly, that and also more money for mass transit systems for cities and more green sources of energy wherever possible.

[daybranch]

5. How would that work better in the case of the VA

The VA directly provides compensation to Veterans and medical services them selves to Veterans whereas the Medicare organization provides payments to providers such as hospitals, nursing homes, doctors etc.. Since they are not providing payments to the same groups and certainly not according to the same guidelines, it is a stretch to believe they fundamentally do the same thing. I see little chance of saving administrative costs by this combination you suggest and I sincerely doubt rolling the VA into medicare is an apt description of combining these two very different organizations.
I do however believe defense should be cut and it will be when we have built the groundswell necessary tyo overcome the hysteria spread by conservatives. Chuck Hagel is a good start if he applies infantry realism learned as a grunt in Vietnam to the discussion.
If you want to eliminate administrative costs, I would argue for elimination of much of DHS.

[DallasNE]

6. I'm With You On DHS

That has been a real bust. The FBI and CIA still aren't talking to one another plus other turf wars abound. My take on the VA is a little different although I would not roll them together either. Medicare is self-funded with a dedicated payroll tax. VA benefits are paid for out of general revenue so the financing is totally different. Plus, when we start new wars every 10 years it increases the demand for VA benefits. That has to come out of general revenue because it would bankrupt Medicare. Some overlap exists where administrative functions could be handled by an umbrella group to negotiate better prices for care and drugs then both departments could benefit from the cost savings. Here I think Medicare has the superior system in place.

[Sunlei]

13. good idea except the Vet hospital system should start taking some medicare patients.

Our Gov should also start buying cheaper drugs from Canada? or even start making the most common medications. Pharm companies overcharge.

[reACTIONary]

23. Drugs are cheaper in Canada...

...because the government uses its buying power to negotiate hard for the best price. Incredibly, that ain't legal here. We don't have to buy them from Canada, we just have to start negotiating like Canada does.

[840high]

2. Too much foreign aid. Take

care of home first.

[Zoeisright]

3. Wrong.

Foreign aid is less than 1% of the budget. Your statement is typical right wing ignorance. Read this and LEARN something:

http://www.minnpost.com/community-voices/2012/10/us-foreign-aid-serves-critical-needs-and-yields-high-return-investment

[840high]

4. Learn something? - not from

a rude person like you.

[CreekDog]

18. but you are incorrect

can I ask how much reducing foreign aid is going to impact our deficit?

[John2]

8. I think

Foreign Aid would be higher than that if you throw in the amount of military bases we maintain in Foreign countries. If you put all military assistance in one category and seperate it from economic assistance, then it would be astronomical.

I don't think it is neccessary to maintain an American Army in Germany or Japan. Those two countries donot maintain a sufficient standing military of their own because we still occupy both countries and defend them. World War II ended decades ago. I would throw examples like that in the category of Foreign Military Aid because both those industrialized countries spend virtually zilch on their National Security.

We also give Israel more military aid than economic aid even though they have the most modern military in the Middle East. I've seen a study where 18 percent of their military budget comes from the U.S. if true or not. Out of 1.4 trillion dollars spent on military budgets through the entire World, 48 percent of that is spent by the U.S. I don't think it is to defend the mainland either. I think it goes to defend the new Roman Empire. I also think it benefits the top percent in this country, especially the military industry.

[daybranch]

25. military bases and

military intervention is foreign aid for the 1 percent.

[Trascoli]

7. Didn't we just give a bunch of F-aid

To Syria last week. It must stop.

[quaker bill]

9. I believe we gave some aid to the rebels

A little slice of humanitarian assistance as I recall it. Stopping foriegn aid always sounds great, it has sounded great for a long time. As a result, there is very little money in foriegn aid. The tax break for the 1% to buy yachts, personal jet aircraft, and box seats in football stadiums is likely much larger.

[fasttense]

10. Well, this feeds right into all the propaganda.

It's basically a poll to find out if the propaganda about the deficit and spending cuts is working.

And for the most part, the survey indicates most Americans are not really buying the propaganda.

Note the first sentence doesn't even question if the deficit is too big. It just goes right out there and declares we have a huge federal deficit. (No word about our trade deficit, but that's not part of the propaganda). So you know what angel this writer is taking.

Then it interprets the results as indicating most Americans want government Austerity. Really? That's not what I read in the very small graphs (even if you click on them, they are almost impossible to read). The survey never asked if you want Austerity. It asked what you think of current spending levels. What the graphs show is that most Americans want MORE Spending on social programs and less on the military (which means war to most people) and foreign aid.

How is that an indication that most Americans want government Austerity? No where does it ask the question do you favor government Austerity.

The propaganda is working in some areas. Most people want increased spending for assistance to the poor (64 percent), but not welfare (-28.5). Welfare has become a dirty word but assistance to the poor not so much.

Then there is this "Despite all this support for increasing spending, the survey found that 52 percent believed their own federal income taxes last year were too high." Well of course the majority think their taxes are too high. The tax burden has been shifted to the middle class and poor away from the rich 1% and corporations.

A survey is only as good as the questions it asks. This writer reads things in it that aren't there.

[bread_and_roses]

12. +++ (n/t)

[underpants]

19. My read too

Fox News (and the MSM) are loosing their effectiveness. I guess lying us into war was too much for a lot of people.

[modrepub]

11. Not me!

The USPS tried to close a distribution center in Reading last year to save money. Every local representative (just about) showed up to argue to keep the place open and save a couple of dozen jobs. It's all fun and games until it's your job and community being affected.

I'd propose a needs based test on tax breaks and government handouts to corporations and farmers to try and get some of the most grievous takers off the government doles.

[DonB]

14. Using a CONtrived crisis

like the USPS to make a fun and games analogy is a little sad because it fails to define the poison pill that the CONservatives and rethugliCONs slipped into legislation to cause that closing. It does not reiterate to people just how greatly they have been CONned.

Your second point is spot on. That list of tax breaks and handouts should and would go viral.

It is a shame that there is no discussions of a wealth tax to solve our unemployment and fiscal crisis's. I could see a back charge to walmart and their fascist owners to recoup all the governments services their employees are forced to use as well as taking a good chunk of their inherited wealth.

[JDPriestly]

15. We've sacrificed our jobs and our industry in the interest

of development in other countries. I think that most Americans feel that is enough "aid" for us to give.

Incomes are still very, very low in a lot of countries around the world. But the incomes in the US are declining at a troubling rate. Charity begins at home.

The US developed with foreign investment, but did not receive foreign aid to do it. Maybe that is why foreign aid is unpopular in our country. We never received it. We accepted the poor, the refugees from around the world. Rich people brought their money here too, but I don't think the US ever received what we would call foreign aid other than maybe the gas from Chavez. Foreigners invested here expecting a return, but they didn't give us aid. Am I wrong about this?

[valerief]

16. WTF does "most Americans want austerity" mean? Bullshit! nt

[Leontius]

20. It means that most Americans want government to spend wisely and eliminate useless spending on

duplicate programs, ineffective programs, outdated programs, unneeded programs, and just general waste of funds.

[Ruby the Liberal]

17. "Despite a dislike of taxes, more people have always favored increases in spending than cuts"

And therein lies the stupidity.

What social contract? We survive on greed.

[John2]

21. I think it is

more like most people feel like they are not sharing in the wealth of this country. They want taxes raised on the wealthy because they believe more and more they are the greedy. Especially when they see those profits while they are just getting by.

[on point]

22. I support reducing the deficit. I don't support the 1% priorities to do it!

They got all the benefits over the last 30 years, let them pay it down through MUCH higher tax rates..

Oh yeah cut the military budget which only serves their 'interests' anyway

[daybranch]

24. It is our fault

We let the republicans spread the lies about debt and tell the ignorants that the national economy runs like their home. We sat by why they made the ignorant people who knew nothing about macroeconomic believe they were smarter than politicians with their economic advisers. At some point the republicans recognized the results of our failure, started touting the drum for ignorance economics (which they invented out of thin air and called trickle down and kitchen table economics) by creating fears of debt crises, the belief in job creators as the rich etc. We never convinced the people that spending is necessary to produce the jobs and jobs are the necessary tool to bring down the deficit.
Since know better, it is up to us to educate our brothers and sisters.

[Skittles]

26. defense? say it like it is: SENSELESS WARS