In an interview with Reuters TV, Laura Tyson, former chairwoman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisors under President Bill Clinton, said that Democrats can win the debate over government spending and taxes by reframing the argument to emphasize individual government programs.
“[W]hen you say things like, ‘Do you think the government has a role to play in roads and airport safety? Do you think the government should have a role to play in fostering research? What do you think about the role of the government in student loans?’ Americans say, ‘Yeah, we actually support those things,’” Tyson said.
Her point was to illustrate that despite calls to shrink government, Americans tend to favor individual government programs when government spending is dissected.
“I think we can win that debate because Americans, over and over again, say they care about these things [government programs],” she said.
“A lot of those voters who criticize big government don’t know that Medicare is big government as they define it,” she continued.
A new Rasmussen Poll found that 64 percent of likely voters would prefer a government with fewer services and lower taxes than one with more services and higher taxes. Another recent Rasmussen Poll found that 64 percent of voters also said that thoughtful spending cuts should be considered in every federal government program.
Overall, Americans want to cut spending and taxes, but when it comes to individual programs, Americans are more hesitant about cuts. According to a Harris Poll, Americans tend to oppose cuts to programs like food stamps, farm subsidies, scientific research, health care spending and Social Security. For example, 80 percent of Americans oppose cuts to Social Security and 70 percent oppose cuts to education and health care spending.
Another Harris Poll found that 51 percent of Americans think that “a great deal of change” is necessary to keep Medicare affordable and sustainable, but most oppose paying for it themselves.
“There’s a clear majority who think there is a problem that needs to be addressed, but if the changes are going to cost me money in terms of higher co-pays, higher deductibles or higher taxes, no thank you,” said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of The Harris Poll.
Americans favor cuts to areas like foreign economic and military aid, business subsidies, regulatory spending and federal welfare spending. For example, over 73 percent of Americans are in favor of cutting foreign military and economic aid, and 52 percent favor cuts to federal welfare programs.
Americans are still disappointed with the direction of the country, however. A majority — 58.5 percent — think the country is headed down the wrong track while only 33.8 percent think the country is headed in the right direction, according to the Real Clear Politics (RCP) average.
President Barack Obama’s approval rating has also been inching down from earlier this year, from a high of 50 percent in January to 48.4 percent in May, according to the RCP average. And Democrats are lagging behind behind the Republicans by 1.2 points on the generic congressional ballot.
With government spending increasing, unemployment at 8.1 percent and consumer confidence plunging again this month from 68.7 in April to 64.9 in May, Obama and the Democrats may have a difficult time convincing voters to look at individual issues with such a dire macro-outlook.
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