Poll shows Americans oppose entitlement cuts to deal with debt problem

[Toro]

This thread is to gauge public opinion on cutting the deficit.

I contend that Americans really aren't all that serious about cutting the deficit. They say that they want to but they aren't willing to make sacrifices to do so. You will know that Americans are serious when they accept that to deal with the deficit, taxes will have to go up and/or major cuts will be necessary in defense, social security and/or medicare and other items that affect them directly rather than cosmetic and relatively insubstantial things that do not affect them.

First poll is from CBS. Most people support raising taxes on other people, in this case, the rich, which, for most people, are not them.

The February 2011 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll | The Magazine | Vanity Fair

 

[Oddball]

Wow...People want their goodies and want everyone else to pay for them.

There's a news flash.

 

[Toro]

Here is a poll from Bloomberg last month.

Americans want Congress to bring down a federal budget deficit that many believe is “dangerously out of control,” only under two conditions: minimize the pain and make the rich pay.

The public wants Congress to keep its hands off entitlements such as Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, a Bloomberg National Poll shows. They oppose cuts in most other major domestic programs and defense. They want to maintain subsidies for farmers and tax breaks like the mortgage-interest deduction. And they’re against an increase in the gasoline tax.

That aversion to sacrifice is at odds with a spate of recent studies, including one by President Barack Obama’s debt panel, that say reductions in Medicare, Social Security, military and other spending are necessary to curb a deficit that totaled $1.29 trillion in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, or 9 percent of the gross domestic product. ...

According to the Dec. 4-7 poll, taken days after Obama’s commission sounded an alarm over the nation’s “unsustainable fiscal path,” the public still believes it’s more important to “minimize sacrifice” than to take “bold and fast” action to pare the $13.7 trillion national debt. ...

The one place Americans are willing to see sacrifice is in the wallets of the wealthy and Wall Street.

While they say they strongly support balancing the budget over the next 20 years, when offered a list of more than a dozen possible spending cuts or tax increases, majorities opposed every one of them except imposing a bigger burden on the rich. ...

Eighty-two percent of respondents opposed benefit cuts to the Medicare health-insurance system for the elderly, with about half of Republicans wanting to see both the current Medicare and Social Security systems preserved. Just 35 percent of all respondents back a system in which government vouchers would help people pay for their own health insurance. ...

Support for keeping the current structure of the Social Security program is strong, at 55 percent. Lower-earning Americans are especially averse to any big changes.

Americans in Poll Want Deficit Cut With Entitlements Secured - Bloomberg.com

 

[Toro]

Wow...People want their goodies and want everyone else to pay for them.

There's a news flash.

Yup.

Politicians have to start telling people that you cannot solve this problem without everyone sacrificing something.

 

[Truthmatters]

Maybe someday the republican party will have some ideas that actually help get us there.

The last time we made headway was in 1993 when the budget reduction act was passed without one single R vote.

 

[goldcatt]

Wow...People want their goodies and want everyone else to pay for them.

There's a news flash.

Yup.

Politicians have to start telling people that you cannot solve this problem without everyone sacrificing something.

Good luck!

 

[Two Thumbs]

This thread is to gauge public opinion on cutting the deficit.

I contend that Americans really aren't all that serious about cutting the deficit. They say that they want to but they aren't willing to make sacrifices to do so. You will know that Americans are serious when they accept that to deal with the deficit, taxes will have to go up and/or major cuts will be necessary in defense, social security and/or medicare and other items that affect them directly rather than cosmetic and relatively insubstantial things that do not affect them.

First poll is from CBS. Most people support raising taxes on other people, in this case, the rich, which, for most people, are not them.

The February 2011 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll | The Magazine | Vanity Fair

I can see not making cuts to SS. many people rely on that.

Medicare, medicaid, welfare, Dept of Ed, DOT ,etc,etc can be cut. Cut to tiny bits.

With the DoD you need to make specific cuts. Just cutting that budget will fuck service people over and the civilias that support it.

 

[gnurat]

People need to see through their political affiliation and quit blaming one another.

Our problems began many years ago, I see our problems as Politicians being human. Each Politician wants his name on something great.

The power they feel seeing a bridge they built or a social program with their name on it is overwhelming.

Power corrupts in many ways, the best intentions of politicians seem to have very negative effects.

Cutting the deficit is great but without identifying what caused the deficit is a mistake.

We must be honest about what happened. Our deficit is as I see it, a hundred years of progressivism.

 

[goldcatt]

This thread is to gauge public opinion on cutting the deficit.

I contend that Americans really aren't all that serious about cutting the deficit. They say that they want to but they aren't willing to make sacrifices to do so. You will know that Americans are serious when they accept that to deal with the deficit, taxes will have to go up and/or major cuts will be necessary in defense, social security and/or medicare and other items that affect them directly rather than cosmetic and relatively insubstantial things that do not affect them.

First poll is from CBS. Most people support raising taxes on other people, in this case, the rich, which, for most people, are not them.

The February 2011 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair Poll | The Magazine | Vanity Fair

I can see not making cuts to SS. many people rely on that.

Medicare, medicaid, welfare, Dept of Ed, DOT ,etc,etc can be cut. Cut to tiny bits.

With the DoD you need to make specific cuts. Just cutting that budget will fuck service people over and the civilias that support it.

Every Federal program has employees and civilian industries they purchase from and/or contract with for services. Every single one of those employees and suppliers has the same reliance on government money as the others. How do you justify telling all of the others they have to go because of your sacred cow?

Cut wisely and without emotional attachment to pet projects and departments, that's the only way. And most important, without doling out special favors because of who represents those affected!

 

[Truthmatters]

People need to see through their political affiliation and quit blaming one another.

Our problems began many years ago, I see our problems as Politicians being human. Each Politician wants his name on something great.

The power they feel seeing a bridge they built or a social program with their name on it is overwhelming.

Power corrupts in many ways, the best intentions of politicians seem to have very negative effects.

How do you change anything in this country without electing people to office?

 

[Truthmatters]

Raise taxes on the wealthy who have jsut benifited hugely from this crash and cut the fuck out of unneeded military spending

 

[Jackson]

Raise taxes on the wealthy who have jsut benifited hugely from this crash and cut the fuck out of unneeded military spending

First of all, anyone who makes a million a year should NOT be receiving SS. And they don't need medicare. Cut them out.

Cut out all discretionary spending.

Cut out all subsidies.

Cut out all Faith Based funding by the government. Let the rich step up to the plate.

Cut NASA and the ARTS.

Cut government responsibility of solid waste and snow removal. Private companies should replace them. More jobs for people.

Cut government grants. Let the rich step up for grant giving.

 

[LordBrownTrout]

Raise taxes on the wealthy who have jsut benifited hugely from this crash and cut the fuck out of unneeded military spending

You left out cutting the hell out of social programs.

 

[Avorysuds]

Raise taxes on the wealthy who have jsut benifited hugely from this crash and cut the fuck out of unneeded military spending

First of all, anyone who makes a million a year should NOT be receiving SS. And they don't need medicare. Cut them out.

Cut out all discretionary spending.

Cut out all subsidies.

Cut out all Faith Based funding by the government. Let the rich step up to the plate.

Cut NASA and the ARTS.

Cut government responsibility of solid waste and snow removal. Private companies should replace them. More jobs for people.

Cut government grants. Let the rich step up for grant giving.

While I agree with the rest of your list my question is why do feel it's ok to make rich people pay the most for SS and Medicare and not even be eligible for what they paid for many times over?

 

[Avorysuds]

Raise taxes on the wealthy who have jsut benifited hugely from this crash and cut the fuck out of unneeded military spending

You left out cutting the hell out of social programs.

Wiki didn't tell her to so she does not even know they are pretty much the entire problem.

 

[Jackson]

Raise taxes on the wealthy who have jsut benifited hugely from this crash and cut the fuck out of unneeded military spending

First of all, anyone who makes a million a year should NOT be receiving SS. And they don't need medicare. Cut them out.

Cut out all discretionary spending.

Cut out all subsidies.

Cut out all Faith Based funding by the government. Let the rich step up to the plate.

Cut NASA and the ARTS.

Cut government responsibility of solid waste and snow removal. Private companies should replace them. More jobs for people.

Cut government grants. Let the rich step up for grant giving.

While I agree with the rest of your list my question is why do feel it's ok to make rich people pay the most for SS and Medicare and not even be eligible for what they paid for many times over?

I understand what you are saying, but it's incidental to them. If I was making a million a year, I would willingly forgo a couple of thousand for the good of Social Security. I think most millionaires would. They just received a tax cut that was worth a great deal more than that. If you would multiply that couple of tholusand per each millionaire we have, it would help SS. Just my thoughts. Thank you for your reply.

 

[Avorysuds]

First of all, anyone who makes a million a year should NOT be receiving SS. And they don't need medicare. Cut them out.

Cut out all discretionary spending.

Cut out all subsidies.

Cut out all Faith Based funding by the government. Let the rich step up to the plate.

Cut NASA and the ARTS.

Cut government responsibility of solid waste and snow removal. Private companies should replace them. More jobs for people.

Cut government grants. Let the rich step up for grant giving.

While I agree with the rest of your list my question is why do feel it's ok to make rich people pay the most for SS and Medicare and not even be eligible for what they paid for many times over?

I understand what you are saying, but it's incidental to them. If I was making a million a year, I would willingly forgo a couple of thousand for the good of Social Security. I think most millionaires would. They just received a tax cut that was worth a great deal more than that. If you would multiply that couple of tholusand per each millionaire we have, it would help SS. Just my thoughts. Thank you for your reply.

Sure, I wouldn't be against that if it were an option and even a tax write off. I'm not rich but if I were paying 200k in taxes a year I'd like some options on tax write offs if I choose or am not qualified to even receive Medicare/SS... It won't take taxes from 200k to 20k a year but let’s say I have a business and that’s how I got rich, it would allow me to invest more, create jobs or give raises.

 

[gnurat]

People need to see through their political affiliation and quit blaming one another.

Our problems began many years ago, I see our problems as Politicians being human. Each Politician wants his name on something great.

The power they feel seeing a bridge they built or a social program with their name on it is overwhelming.

Power corrupts in many ways, the best intentions of politicians seem to have very negative effects.

How do you change anything in this country without electing people to office?

I think you got your posts confused or do you want to discuss a different topic.

 

[gnurat]

Who should sacrifice in order that we have a future.

I for one have sacrificed for my entire life.

Who should sacrifice is class warfare. Who should sacrifice and what is pure politics in my opinion.

Maybe one has not thought of it this way, but when you start asking who should sacrifice, I for one, if I allow the premise, I incorrectly must identify a group of people.

Is this our only choice, people must sacrifice. No its not, this is what government wants us to believe. The government, through media is great at influencing what we believe and how we debate our problems.

The only thing that should sacrifice is government itself. The government is an entity of its own. Controlled by the rich or corporations, so be it, yet it is still its own entity and the government is the only problem we face, not the rich. Not the poor, not special interest groups.

Government as a whole has created a problem, year after year, each person who has been in government is the problem, from politicians to the workers in the bureaucratic mess.

Government should sacrifice, alone.

 

[Toro]

Raise taxes on the wealthy who have jsut benifited hugely from this crash and cut the fuck out of unneeded military spending

What are you willing to sacrifice for yourself TM?