Food Stamps for Thought

The latest Bloomberg poll contains a few shocking results.  Most responses are of the form a majority (but not a huge majority) agree with Obama and disagree with the Republicans in Congress.

One shocking result is that a big big 6% correctly answer that the Federal budget deficit is decreasing.  This beats the old low of 8% in an old poll who correctly answered that taxes for the majority of US families were cut in Obama’s first two years (which beat the 12% who answered correctly in an older poll).  Wow.  Frankly I usually find polling on public perceptions of fact more interesting than polling on public opinion.

But the results which really shocked me were majority support for reducing Social Security cost of living adjustments

Do you favor or oppose reducing the cost-of-living adjustment that automatically increases the amount of
benefits Social Security pays out to help the program remain financially secure?
64 Favor
27 Oppose
9 Not sure

And majority opposition for cutting food stamps

Wait I thought programs for poor people were poor programs.  When I read the not too clear article on the poll, I was alarmed at the bit about “scientific research,” but now I think the enthusiasm is based on eagerness to cut the pretty much nonexistent grants for the arts.  I’d guess “Grants for scientific research” would be up there with food stamps and “Grants for the arts” would be way past Defence and off the chart.

There are many more amazing facts (did you guess a plurality of US adults were Keynesian ?) so do click the link.

Update:  Pew finds a plurality opposed to cutting foreign aid 

Forty-eight percent believe that overseas aid for the world’s destitute — a tiny fraction of the overall budget — should be decreased, while 21 percent said it should be increased and 28 percent said it should remain the same.

slap me.  I think  I’m asleep and dreaming.  I never thought I’d live to see the day (of course I never thought I’d see an African American president an don’t even mention gay marriage).