Thu, Mar 30, 2023 page7

• Majority in US say federal budget too high

  BALANCING ACT: However, most of the respondents in a recent poll were also in favor of more funding for infrastructure, healthcare and social security programs

  • AP. WASHINGTON
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  In the federal budget standoff, the majority of US adults want lawmakers to pull off the impossible: Cut the overall size of government, but also devote more money to the most popular and expensive programs.

  In a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, six in 10 US adults said the government spends too much money, but majorities also favored more funding for infrastructure, healthcare and social security — the kind of commitments that would make efforts to shrink the government unworkable and politically risky ahead of next year’s elections.

  These findings showed just how messy the financial tug-of-war between US President Joe Biden and Republicans in the US House of Representatives could be. At stake is the full faith and credit of the federal government, which could default on its obligations unless there is a deal this summer to raise or suspend the limit on the government’s borrowing authority.

  Biden this month proposed a budget that would trim deficits by nearly US$3 trillion over 10 years, but his plan contains a mix of tax increases on the wealthy and new spending that led Republican lawmakers to declare it dead on arrival.

  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is insisting on budget talks with the White House, but has not produced a plan of his own to cut deficits, which Biden has said is a prerequisite for negotiations.

  The poll found that US adults were closely divided over whether they want to see a bigger government offering more services or a smaller government offering fewer services.

  However, a clear majority — 60 percent — said they think government is spending too much altogether.

  Just 16 percent said the government is spending too little, while 22 percent said spending levels are about right.

  US adults were previously less supportive of spending cuts, a possible sign of how the COVID-19 pandemic and a historic burst of aid to address it have reshaped politics. Compared with 60 percent now, 37 percent called for spending cuts in February 2020, as COVID-19 was beginning to spread throughout the US.

  By May, even fewer, 25 percent, wanted less spending, after the virus had forced major disruptions to public life, the economy and the healthcare system.

  Retiree Peter Daniluk acknowledged the tensions over the federal budget, saying the government might be “a little too” large, but “you’ve got to spend money in order to make things better.”

  The 78-year-old from Dryden, New York, voted for Biden and believes there should be more funding for the environment and military, while also preserving social security and Medicare.

  “The rich don’t pay enough of the taxes — that’s the problem,” he said. “They know how to get out of paying their proper share.”

  Inflation jumped as the US economy recovered from the pandemic. Republican lawmakers have blamed Biden’s US$1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief package for rising prices as they have pushed for spending cuts, while the president says inflation reflects global factors involving supply chains and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

  Federal expenditures are expected to be equal in size to roughly 24 percent of all US economic activity for the next several years, a figure that is likely to grow as an aging population leads to more spending on social security and Medicare.

  Government spending accounted for just 20.5 percent of US GDP a decade ago, the White House Office of Management and Budget said.

  Even if a majority of adults desire a tightened budget, the challenge for lawmakers trying to hash out an agreement is that the public also wants higher spending on a wide range of programs. While Biden rolled out a budget that would trim deficits largely through tax increases on the wealthy, Republican lawmakers have so far struggled to gel around a set of spending cuts — and even if they did, the White House is betting that their plan would upset voters.

  About six in 10 adults said the government is spending too little on education, healthcare, infrastructure and social security, as well as assistance to the poor and Medicare.

  About half said that the government is spending too little on border security, childcare assistance, drug rehabilitation, the environment and law enforcement.

  By comparison, a wide majority — 69 percent — said the US is spending too much on assistance to other countries.
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