Most Americans say sequester cuts would have a major impact on economy, military
A new national survey by the Pew Research Center and The Washington Post, conducted Feb. 21-24 among 1,000 adults, finds that most say the budget sequester would have a major effect on the economy as well as on the U.S. military. And by more than three-to-one (62%-18%), the public sees the impact on the economy as mostly negative rather than mostly positive.
But signs of public fatigue after a series of fiscal crises remain apparent. Just days before automatic federal spending cuts are set to take place, only a quarter are following the issue very closely. By comparison, four-in-ten were closely tracking the fiscal cliff debate in December a full month before the deadline.
And a Pew Research Center/USA TODAY survey just last week found 40% willing to see the sequester’s cuts take hold rather than having 2-25-13 #2them delayed.
Yet the new survey finds six-in-ten-ten (60%) saying automatic federal spending cuts would have a major effect on the U.S. economy and nearly as many (55%) say the same for the U.S. military. Fewer (45%) say the cuts would have a major impact on the federal budget deficit, while just (30%) think their own personal finances would be affected in a major way.
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Most people wouldn’t have a clue what the interest on their own credit card is, let alone how deep the country is in debt.
OldEnglish on February 27, 2013 at 8:03 AM
The MSM continues to misinform,
thebrokenrattle on February 27, 2013 at 8:06 AM
Sequester: A secret plan
By Dick Morris – The Hill
petefrt on February 27, 2013 at 8:13 AM
Most Americans are stupid too. So what is the point here exactly?
Gatsu on February 27, 2013 at 8:14 AM
Idiots
Yup, idiots who have no idea Obama has his fingerprints all over this.
Keep trying WaPo, even though Obama is snubbing his nose at you and giving interviews to Big Bird instead. Oh well, he’s all ya got and you own him. Congrats.
fogw on February 27, 2013 at 8:18 AM
The media tells people what to think… then the media polls the people on what they believe. Repeat.
Democracy is a joke.
ninjapirate on February 27, 2013 at 8:22 AM
So Dick Morris exposed the big secret that all of us could see coming from a thousand miles way.
Same Morris who said Romney in a landslide?
Guy’s a genius.
fogw on February 27, 2013 at 8:24 AM
Most Americans have no idea that the sequester represents only a tiny portion of our huge federal spending, and that the required cuts could easily be made without any detrimental effect on any vital federal responsibilities.
Most Americans have no idea that the sequester was Obama’s idea.
Most Americans have no idea that, in a cheap political ploy, Obama has already ordered the release of hundreds, or even thousands, of illegal alien criminals, allowing them to return to the U.S. communities they have already victimized, to continue victimizing them. Most Americans have no idea that Obama has blamed his shamelessly irresponsible and illegal act on the sequester, even though it has not yet even gone into effect.
Most Americans get their information from the MSM.
Gee, wonder if there could be a connection . . . .
AZCoyote on February 27, 2013 at 8:29 AM
So they are lumping together people who think cuts will have a negative effect and those who think cuts would have a positive effect. This poll doesn’t tell me anything.
forest on February 27, 2013 at 8:33 AM
The same Americans who voted in the disaster we call President? Gotcha.
hillsoftx on February 27, 2013 at 8:36 AM
Let. It. Burn.
The only way children learn that fire is hot is when they burn themselves. I hope the American public has a lot of Silvadene. They’re going to need it.
RoadRunner on February 27, 2013 at 8:41 AM
From the article:
We’re going in the right direction at least. What happened within the past week that more people decided to blame Obama? Is all his BS finally becoming more obvious?
lynncgb on February 27, 2013 at 8:45 AM
And once nothing happens, cuts advocates get more of a say. It’s what Obama fears
Flapjackmaka on February 27, 2013 at 8:55 AM
It helps us even more nothing will happen after all the scaremongering Obama has been doing.
Flapjackmaka on February 27, 2013 at 8:57 AM
Most Americans are woefully uninformed.
The $787 BILLION stimulus passed in 2009 has been in the budget every year since then! It was not, as most Americans believe, a one time shot in the arm.
The sequester, about which Obama is acting like Chicken Little, is a little more than a 10% cut in a 30% increase thereby reducing the stimulus to a 27% increase. It’s peanuts.
Why do you think the Senate Democrats don’t want to pass a budget? It’s because they’re trying to keep the higher spending from the perpetual stimulus and crafting a budget would expose them.
If there had never been a stimulus current federal spending would be $787 billion less than today, not a paltry $85 billion.
Charlemagne on February 27, 2013 at 8:58 AM
I thought Rush did a decent job in explaining that to a female caller yesterday.
Would that all Americans understood the reality of all Government automatic increases in spending like this.
Badger40 on February 27, 2013 at 9:23 AM
The problem is the White house is going to make sure people feel pain from these tiny cuts. They will intentionally pick the most visible places to cut where the press will have story after story about people who’s lives have been crushed by these cuts(made up of course). The repubs cannot seem to get any coherent message out. I mean people still actually think these are cuts and not reductions in the increase. How hard is it to get that message out? Just pass a replacement that says “instead of the sequester cuts we will just freeze federal spending at current levels for the next 5 or ten years(or until the senate passes a budget) Get on every show and show how you are not making cuts – just freezing spending – throw their message back in their face.
Corsair on February 27, 2013 at 9:28 AM