Americans want Congress to bring the $1.4 trillion federal deficit under control — but they don’t want anyone touching their Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security, entitlement programs that account for 40% of all spending. Nor, according to a new Bloomberg National Poll, do they favor drastic cuts in domestic or defense spending. And one more thing… Don’t raise their taxes.
The public doesn’t oppose all sacrifices — as long as someone else is doing the sacrificing. Like the rich. Otherwise, the polling results are very bad news for anyone who expects public opinion to push Congress into making serious moves to balance the budget. Judging by the poll results, the electorate lives in a Cinderella world where Congressmen can sprinkle magic fairy dust on the federal budget and make the deficits shrink.
