On average, Americans believe that the federal government wastes more than half of all taxpayer dollars.
When asked, respondents to a Gallup poll estimated that the federal government wastes 51 cents of every dollar it receives in tax revenue. State and local governments fared slightly better, polling at 42 and 37 cents of estimated waste per dollar respectively.
According to Gallup, this estimate is the highest it has recorded over a 35-year period for both state and federal government. Local government came in just a point below their highest appraisal of 38 cents of waste per dollar in 2011.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, public perception of government waste is directly related to political ideology. Republicans consistently offered higher estimates, telling the pollster that the federal government wastes 59 cents on the dollar, or eight cents higher than the overall average. Democrats estimated that the federal government wastes only 42 cents of each taxpayer dollar, and independents’ estimate was in line with the study’s mean.
Despite the partisan discrepancy where the federal government was concerned, local government was considered significantly more reliable by both parties, with only a four-cent spread between Republicans and Democrats.
Although public opinion of government spending habits appears low, Americans actually oppose budget reductions to programs such as education and defense.
