Americans Say Federal Gov't Wastes Over Half of Every Dollar

[SpartanDem]

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans estimate that the federal government wastes 51 cents of every dollar it spends, a new high in a Gallup trend question first asked in 1979.

The current estimate of 51 cents wasted on the dollar is similar to what Gallup measured in 2009, but marks the first time Americans believe more than half of federal spending is wasted. The low point in the trend is 38 cents wasted on the dollar, in 1986.

Americans are less likely to believe state and local governments waste money they spend than they are to believe this about the federal government, with the state estimate at 42 cents on the dollar and the local at 38 cents.

Over the last 30 years, Americans have become increasingly likely to see all levels of government as wasting the money they spend, and now the public believes the federal government wastes more than half of the money it spends. It is not clear whether Americans believe government wastes money because it spends on programs they believe are not needed, or because it does not spend money efficiently on programs, whether needed or not. Also, it is not clear whether Americans believe money is wasted more on discretionary government spending, or more on defense, entitlement programs, and interest on the debt -- which make up the bulk of federal government spending.





http://www.gallup.com/poll/149543/Americans-Say-Federal-Gov-Wastes-Half-Every-Dollar.aspx




I would really like to see a more in-depth study on this, some results would be pretty obvious like liberals think too much is spent on the military and conservatives on social programs. I'd really be interested on the views of seniors, given the amount they think is being wasted, yet our social programs are geared to protect them the most.

[Exultant Democracy]

1. Many liberals think that most military spending is wasted and conservitives think most domestic

spending is a waste. It is easy to see how you get to a number this large.

[SpartanDem]

4. Yet even most conservatives support the major social programs

I'd see their thoughts on domestic spending in general vs specific programs

[msongs]

2. military waste is about what you get for the money spent. 2 occupations for a trillion? waste nt

[Mimosa]

3. $16 muffins at DoJ conferences being the latest example.

The DoJ's $16 dollar EACH muffins (and $8 coffee) hit the news lately.

http://www.cnn.com/2011/09/22/opinion/welch-sixteen-dollar-muffin/

5 years before Katrina I heard about FEMA's conferences in vacation hotspots (like Orlando/Disneyworld) from a distant relative who worked for FEMA. I was outraged but didn't dream later FEMA's waste and incompetence would afflict the city I so loved.

[Scruffy1]

8. Except it was a complete lie.

The total bill for the refreshments was $14.74. per person. Just another right wing piece of BS. For some reason the
billing was all put on the muffins and something else. This is why you really shouldn't trust CNN or any other corporate propaganda machine.

[Raine1967]

9. Can you provide a link about that?

I have been hearing this muffin thing coming from progressive radio as well. I would LOVE to be able to debunk it. You are the first person I have seen say otherwise.
I would truly appreciate it!

Thanks.

[PragmaticLiberal]

13. Here you go...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/huff-wires/20110922/us-16-muffins/

[JoePhilly]

10. I'm sure the no bid contracts for Haliburton cost far less.

There is one party that claims that the government can never do anything well, and then when that party is in office, they do everything they can to prove the point. Which is how you get a guy running FEMA who has ZERO experience in disaster response.

Government can work well, but not if you fill it with people who are hell bent on ensuring that the government collapses.

Who are those people? Well, they now control the US House of representatives.

[subterranean]

5. This is pretty meaningless without defining what constitutes "waste."

[sam11111]

6. "total gov waste is..." Study fm CBO or GAO

I recall such about seven yrs ago

LOW LOW compared to RW fog cloud claims.

Anyone have time to find, post it?

[Tesha]

7. Almost every military dollar and all the interest dollars on that portion of our debt...

...is wasted. We could have a radically smaller
"Defense Department" and be safer for it. One
easy way to do that would be to eliminate all
of the "Offense Department" within DoD.

Tesha

[rug]

11. Considering half of every dollar goes to the military, they're right.

[GoCubsGo]

12. Bingo!

I don't think military spending is a complete waste, but it's a fat chunk of it. I don't begrudge paying our troops a decent wage, or giving them the proper equipment. It's all the money wasted on Congress' pet projects, and on contractors that's the waste. And, that doesn't just go for military contractors, either. I used to work at a federal facility. One cannot believe the massive waste if tax dollars that goes one by the private contractors who operate the facility. It's sickening. I have absolutely no doubt that this goes on everywhere they let contractors do the job. Every time I hear that the private sector can do things cheaper, I want to puke.

[last_texas_dem]

14. A poll where they ask Americans to randomly pull a number out of their ass

based on pretty much nothing? It's sad they've actually been asking this question for thirty+ years. It doesn't really tell anything other than the level of anti-government sentiment going on at any given time.

[Stuart G]

15. Short rant about waste...in government checks sent out.

I remember a story that the right wing media carried about waste for checks sent out for either refunds some kind our pay out.

The total wasted was about 75 million dollars or some huge number. It got play everywhere.
It was I think an IRS program of some kind, the wingnuts went to town, "See all the waste and corrution ..the federal government could do noting right."

A comprehensive study was followed up on that story...so??????

..It turns out that that number represented less than one percent of all checks sent out..Yes, 99 percent were correctly sent to the people that were supposed to get them. Yes, some people in jail got them, but evidently they had been out of jail when the program was being started and they did indeed earn those checks. And yes, some dead people got checks, but they were alive at the time
of the program, no notification of their death to the federal government.

I used to teach in high school and in that case 99per cent was a A...

I cannot vouch for the Pentagon, but on that particular program, which, by the way, got very little coverage with the results of the comprehensive study, got an A.

:argh: