Americans have no idea where the federal government spends its money, a new poll suggests.<\/p>\n
Among likely voters surveyed late last month by the Tarrance Group, \u201c[t]here are widespread misperceptions about the state of the federal budget,\u201d\u009d the Republican pollsters concluded. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed said they believe the federal government spends more on defense and foreign aid than it does on Medicare and Social Security. In fiscal 2010, spending for those two social programs totaled more than $1.1 trillion, while the Pentagon\u2019s budget was about $660 billion and the State Department\u2019s total spending was just under $52 billion.<\/p>\n
A majority of those surveyed by Tarrance also have \u201cincorrect\u201d\u009d views on how to cut the federal deficit, with 60 percent saying the federal budget\u2019s problems can be ameliorated by eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. The Government Accountability Office on Tuesday released a report detailing several billion dollars\u2019 worth of \u201cduplication\u201d\u009d in government spending that could be cut. But even if the totals reach the tens of billions of dollars, they would still be a drop in the bucket of President Barack Obama\u2019s proposed $3.73 trillion in spending for fiscal 2012.<\/p>\n