Do Voters Really Care About the Deficit?

American voters might claim concern over the deficit but when it comes to any real fixes their answer seems to be a resounding "no."

Democracy and deficit reduction do not play nicely with one another.  A December 9, 2010 Pew Survey found that 93% of Americans say they understand that the deficit is a serious problem.  70% said that the deficit is a serious problem which needs to be addressed now.  The other 23% want to wait until the economy improves to address the deficit.  While these numbers might appear to paint a picture of an American public which takes the deficit seriously, the poll also shows that individual concerns become less pressing when they are asked what they plan to do about the deficit.

For most Americans, the deficit is a problem that should be addressed by taking other people’s money.   58% of respondents that make between $50,000 and $100,000 annually thought that the first step toward balancing the budget should be to tax the wealthy more.  This figure is in line with another poll released by CBS/ em>Vanity Fair today<.  That poll found that 61% of Americans thought soaking the rich should be the first big step toward balancing the budget.  Among middle income respondents ($50K to $100K) the poll found an identical 58% of respondents in favor.  Perhaps even more appalling, this is pretty much the only thing that was agreed upon by the respondents.  The Pew Survey found staggering levels of opposition to those cuts which are most likely to have a serious long term impact on cutting the deficit.  Of those that had heard of the deficit panel’s recommendations, 48% told Pew that they opposed the proposed combo of tax increases.  Even more staggering is the opposition to individual cuts.

71% told Pew that they opposed cutting federal funding to state programs like roads and education.  72% told Pew that they disapprove of provisions that would tax the health insurance people receive from their employers.  An astonishing 74% oppose raising the national gasoline tax .  64% oppose raising Medicare contributions.  58% are against gradually raising the social security retirement age.  52% don’t want a national sales tax.  Only two of the twelve ideas for cuts that Pew tested received majority approval (64% approved of increasing the amount of earned income that is subject to social security withholding and 59% supported freezing the salaries of government workers).

Whether you look at today’s CBS/VF poll or the Pew results, one cannot help but see the absurdity in the idea that the public is going to demand that lawmakers reduce the deficit.  If anything, the public is going to punish the lawmakers that do take the problem seriously.  Deficit reduction will have to be imposed in spite of democratic governance.  It is an unpleasant reality, but it is one that lawmakers will have to face down sooner or later.  If House Republicans are more serious about cutting the deficit than the American people are, then they ought to start now.

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