Americans want lower taxes and more spending, according to a recent survey by the NORC Center for Public Affairs at the University of Chicago, and therein lies the problem.
Most poll respondents apparently don't understand that if you have one, you can't have the other. You can't, that is, if the country ever has a prayer of returning to fiscal discipline, of living within its means, of spending what it takes in and no more.
The government can certainly lower taxes. That means it takes in less of your money and has less to spend - on foreign entanglements, on entitlement programs, on roads and bridges, on a bloated bureaucracy to handle it all. You, in turn, have more to spend on your family, your business and your charity.
The government can certainly spend more. That means it takes in more of your money and has more to spend - on foreign entanglements, on entitlement programs, on roads and bridges, on a bloated bureaucracy to handle it all. You, in turn, have less to spend on your family, your business and your charity.
The survey also found, out of 22 suggested spending items, Americans most wants cuts on welfare, foreign aid, assistance to big cities and the space program but more spending on Social Security, assistance to the poor, alternative energy sources, crime and drug addiction. At the same time, 57 percent of respondents said their taxes were too high.
The 2016 presidential candidate who suggests the best compromise of lowering taxes and spending probably should be elected, but the presidential candidate who suggests more of one side or the other probably will be elected.