According to recent polls from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, many U.S. adults express a belief that their government is mismanaging budget allocations. As extensive cuts are proposed by key figures like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, the public's views don't uniformly align with these political strategies.
In a January poll, about two-thirds of Americans voiced the opinion that funding for Social Security and education is insufficient. Similarly, half of the participants felt that border security lacks adequate resources. Moreover, nearly 60% of respondents said that assistance to the poor and Medicare, a critical healthcare service for seniors, is underfunded. This viewpoint persists even as 2023 data shows that 60% of U.S. adults believe the overall federal expenditure is excessive.
Foreign aid remains a contentious topic, where a dominant 70% of respondents feel that too much money is directed overseas. The sentiment is particularly strong among Republicans, with 90% agreeing on over-expenditure. This sentiment challenges the actuality; Americans often overestimate the share of foreign aid in the budget, believing it to be 31%, contrary to the reality of below 1%.
This perception aligns with views like those of Richard Tunnell from Huntsville, Texas, who supports focusing on domestic issues. Tunnell appreciates Trump's 'America First' initiative, emphasizing the need for internal affairs to take precedence.
Conversely, programs like Social Security and Medicare receive bipartisan support; only a minority believes these programs receive excessive funding. Divergence grows on issues like military expenditure, where one-third of the public is split on whether spending is too much, too little, or just right. Nevertheless, Republicans tend to advocate for increased military budgets, while Democrats often support enhancing social services funding.
Jeremy Shouse, another respondent from Durham, North Carolina, illustrates this gap by stressing that social programs should match the military in budgetary importance. He highlights the lack of resources available for education and Medicaid compared to defense.
Overall, Democrats predominantly support higher investments in welfare programs like education, Social Security, and healthcare. They are split over border security, believing funding levels are roughly accurate, though some feel it's either excessive or insufficient. Republicans, on the other hand, have strong preferences for higher border security and Social Security allocations.
These findings arise from an AP-NORC survey conducted with 1,147 adults between January 9-13, with a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points. This data paints a complex picture of American attitudes towards budgeting, where personal priorities sometimes clash with political prescriptions, highlighting a richer tapestry of opinions on government spending.