What 'Americans' would cut

Republicans who won so many House seats in the last election seem to take it for granted that they have achieved a consensus among Americans that slashing domestic spending and entitlements is everyone's top priority. Certainly their fierce rhetoric about cutting spending to reduce federal budget deficits and the cumulative $14 trillion national debt -- more than $12 trillion of which was handed to President Obama by his predecessors when he took office -- conveys that idea.

But that seems to be wrong. A new New York Times/CBS News poll, for example, shows that just 41 percent of Americans believe it will be necessary to tax people like themselves. An even lower proportion of Americans, 39 percent, believe it will be necessary to cut government programs that benefit themselves.

Though predictable, this finding suggests a huge problem for both parties, but particularly for Republicans, who are now proposing to make $2.5 trillion in mostly unspecified cuts in spending over the next decade. That's because virtually every expert analyst, panel and commission that has studied the nation's haunting debt has concluded that it would take a combination of both significant cuts in entitlement spending -- specifically Medicare and Social Security -- and higher taxes to make serious progress on debt and spending reductions.

That's not the only problem that confronts the brash Republican House majority that now wants to drive the train on cutbacks despite the weak economy. This group, or more specifically, the 80 percent who claim to be the party's hard-core conservatives, wants to achieve its $2.5 trillion cuts without touching the gigantic military budget. The poll shows that's not what's wanted or expected by "the American people" whose number the Republicans claim to have.

Given a choice between cutting, if necessary, spending on Medicare, Social Security and the military, 55 percent of all respondents said cut the military. Just 13 percent said cut Social Security, and only 21 percent said to cut Medicare.

Given the choice of cutting four key areas of domestic spending -- education, roads and infrastructure, science and medical research, and aid to the poor -- just 8 percent of respondents would cut education, 21 percent would cut aid to the poor, 26 percent would cut science and medical research. But 34 percent would cut infrastructure, roads and bridges.

Asked to choose between four options to reduce the cost of Medicare, 48 percent would raise premiums on high-income Medicare recipients. By contrast, just 9 percent would reduce covered treatments, just 16 percent would raise premiums for all Medicare recipients, and only 21 percent would raise the qualifying age for Medicare.

Given a similar question to choose one of three options to keep Social Security viable, 66 percent would reduce benefits for higher-income Americans, but just 8 percent would reduce scheduled benefit increases for future retirees, and just 18 percent would raise the starting age for receiving Social Security.

These responses confirm what should be obvious to any congressman who reads his mail or talks to his constituents. It's easy to talk in the abstract about cutting spending and slashing debt. But talking about specifics raises unfettered controversy and concern.

It's too bad, as well, that the poll didn't give an option on repealing the Republicans' extension of the high-end Bush tax cuts -- most of which went to multimillionaires and billionaires -- which they want to make permanent at a cost of more than $900 billion over the next decade. Given the responses in New York Times/CBS News national poll, a majority of Americans would surely put those on the chopping block over Medicare and Social Security cuts.

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