The International Unpopularity of Government Spending Programs
While the wisdom of government spending programs can certainly be debated, even among academic experts (see the prior post), it's fascinating to learn that such programs' unpopularity is not limited to American voters.
See the chart below from the Economist magazine (original sources: The German Marshall Fund and the OECD - June 2011.)
The poll results show clear support for austerity over spending, at least in developed countries which may actually have the choice.
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ReplyDeleteThat chart may have some use somewhere, but I'm not really sure where or how.
ReplyDeleteSo 61% of Americans want to cut spending? How many of them are senior citizens willing to take a cut on their monthly benefits? How many of them are getting government-provided high cost drugs for their illness, which they could not afford themselves?
I myself am a middle class, suburbanite, married white male homeowner. Care to guess what I would like to see cut?
Now ask the same question to an internet billionaire, or an unemployed teenage mother of two. Exactly.
Now, if we can find a poll where 90% of respondents agree that the program ***fill in the blank***should be cut, THEN we would have something!
But this info, on its own, doesn't really get us closer to a solution.