Why Reducing the U.S. Deficit is So Hard

A Pew Research survey from late last week shed no new light on how the American public feels about the burgeoning U.S. debt - by an overwhelming majority they think the government should cut spending, but, when asked about specific cuts, they rejected lower spending by an even bigger majority.

You might think that the logical solution then is to raise taxes, but, that isn’t very popular either. In this same survey it was reported that about two-thirds of Americans rejected higher gasoline taxes, reducing federal funding to states, and paying more for healthcare.

It seems the public thinks Uncle Sam’s books can be squared by just cutting foreign aid and jobless benefits along with capping payments to affluent Social Security recipients and salaries for government workers.

One Response to Why Reducing the U.S. Deficit is So Hard

  1. DCX2 June 19, 2012 at 11:47 AM #

    It’s interesting to see the patterns on SS and Medicare across generations. The closer you are to collecting SS/Medicare, the more likely you will want the benefits to be maintained, and the more likely you are okay with raising taxes on workers and employers.

    As someone who exists between Gen X and Millenial, I can foresee a time, perhaps in a decade or so, where this demographic will rail against what amounts to a bailout for the generation that ruined America’s finances.

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