Kids aren’t the only ones in the United States who struggle with math. A new CNN poll finds that most Americans flunk a basic budget IQ test.
Some of this is fairly routine – ignorance about foreign aid and reticence about touching Social Security – but overall it points out a growing problem for Republican budget hawks. Most Americans think it is much easier, and more painless, to cut the budget than the members of Congress — those who have their political careers on the line — know it to be.
Here’s how CNN polling director Keating Holland sums it up:
“’The public has a better idea of how much the government spends on programs like Social Security and Medicare, but there is a related problem — cutting them has little public support,’ Holland said. ‘The result: cutting unpopular programs would probably not cut the deficit very much, and cutting the deficit would probably require cuts in programs that Americans like.’
“Let’s start with international assistance. Sixty percent of people we questioned say they’d like to put foreign aid on the chopping block. So would that make a dent in the deficit?
“No — but try telling that to the American public. According to the poll, on average, Americans estimate that foreign aid takes up 10 percent of the federal budget, and one in five think it represents about 30 percent of the money the government spends.
“But the actual figure is closer to 1 percent, according to data from the Office of Management and Budget from the 2010 fiscal year’s $3.5 trillion budget.
“OK. Let’s try more low-hanging fruit — funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Our survey indicates nearly half of all Americans would like to see major cuts.
“According to our poll the public estimates that the government spent 5 percent of its budget last year on public television and radio.
“Not even close. The real answer is about one-tenth of 1 percent.”
Holland takes a look at the other side of the coin and finds Americans really are not interested in fiscal discipline or chopping large portions of the federal budget. The poll respondents were fairly accurate in guessing that Social Security consumes about 20 percent of the budget. But that doesn’t mean they want Rep. Paul Ryan and his fellow GOP deficit hawks to start chopping.
“’Budget experts agree that cutting a target that big would be a good start toward getting the deficit under control,’” Holland said. “’Problem is, 87 percent of people we surveyed don’t want to decrease the amount of money spent on Social Security — and four in 10 would like to see that figure grow. The same is generally true for Medicare and Medicaid which, combined, made up 19 percent of last year’s budget.’”
Again, that is not good news for the GOP. They deserve credit for acting responsibly, but they’re taking on a monumental political struggle, one that is sure to generate significant public opposition, on the eve of a presidential/congressional election year.
