Americans want Congress to delay steep spending cuts to give the economic recovery more time to take hold, according to a Bloomberg News poll.
When Washington does confront the deficit issue, Americans back a compromise that includes more tax revenue and fundamental changes to Social Security and Medicare, a deal that would require give-and-take by both Republicans in Congress and President Barack Obama. …
Americans also have a skewed picture of what drives federal spending. At least half correctly pegged defense programs, Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid — both of which comprise about one fifth of the federal budget — as accounting for at least 20 percent of federal spending. Yet almost a third of respondents say the same about education — which actually comprises 2 percent of the budget — and foreign aid — which registers at just 1 percent of federal spending. [cont.]
Julie Hirschfeld Davis, Bloomberg