A February 16 Harris poll found that support for cutting spending is largely confined to small programs, such as foreign aid, and that people favor increasing spending for big programs, such as Social Security. The poll also shows that there is considerably less support for budget cuts today than there was in 1980.
A February 15 CBS News poll found that only 49 percent of people believe that reducing the deficit will require cuts in programs that benefit them; 41 percent do not. Also, only 37 percent of people believe that reducing the deficit will require higher taxes on them; 59 percent do not.
On February 15, the White House issued a Statement of Administration Policy promising to veto a budget bill with cuts deep as Republicans propose.
In a February 15 commentary, Tax Policy Center director Donald Marron explained the confusing question of whether Obama’s 2012 budget proposes raising taxes or cutting them.
A February 15 Gallup poll found that a decreasing percentage of Americans think the nation spends too little on national defense and a rising percentage think it spends too much.
A February 15 YouGov poll found that despite a historically large budget deficit and a historically low level of taxes as a share of GDP, 58 percent of Republicans favor a tax cut, as well as 41 percent of independents and 21 percent of Democrats.
A February 14 Dakota poll found that Tea Party members in South Dakota are much less anti-government than commonly believed. Among its members, 96 percent oppose cutting veterans programs, 83 percent oppose cuts in Social Security, and 79 percent oppose cuts in Medicare and military spending.
On February 14, the Obama administration sent its fiscal year 2012 budget proposal to Congress.
On February 14, the National Bureau of Economic Research published a working paper which found that contrary of conservative dogma, fiscal stimulus in the U.S. was actually quite modest compared to other countries,
Another February 14 NBER working paper found that the debt limit varies from country to country.
I last posted items on this topic on February 14.
Bruce Bartlett is an American historian and columnist who focuses on the intersection between politics and economics. He blogs daily and writes a weekly column at The Fiscal Times. Bartlett has written for Forbes Magazine and Creators Syndicate, and his work is informed by many years in government, including as a senior policy analyst in the Reagan White House. He is the author of seven books including the New York Times best-seller, Imposter: How George W. Bush Bankrupted America and Betrayed the Reagan Legacy (Doubleday, 2006).
