What Would the Public Do?

Here's a revolutionary concept: what if the American people could determine America's budget? The outcome would be drastically different from the current $2.6 trillion budget bill produced by America's President and under debate this week in Congress. The current budget increases funding for defense and homeland security, adds further tax cuts and slashes virtually everything else by capping discretionary spending across the board.

In a fascinating new study released last week, the University of Maryland's Program on International Policy Attitudes (PIPA) explained Bush's budget to a representative sample group of respondents and asked what they'd do differently. The results should be a wake up call to elected officials on Capitol Hill.

"The most dramatic changes were deep cuts in defense spending, a significant relocation toward deficit reduction, and increases in spending on education, job training, reducing reliance on oil, and veterans," the study found. "These changes were favored by both Republicans and Democrats."

Unlike spineless legislators from both parties, two thirds of respondents would cut the Pentagon's bloated $435.9 billion budget by $133.8 billion, a 30 percent decrease. Specifically, respondents want the Pentagon to halt the development of new nuclear weapons--advocated by Donald Rumsfeld--and shift resources away from fighting large and small-scale conventional wars. The public rejects the belief that net increases are needed to effectively fight the war on terror. While they would maintain the size and salaries of the current military, respondents believe the Pentagon should spend only "a bit more than its most powerful potential enemy" while flexing its power through international institutions.

These cuts would be redirected toward lessening the deficit and boosting funds for social spending. A substantial majority would reallocate $36 billion for deficit reduction and roll back tax cuts for those earning over $200,000. Respondents also advocated increased spending on education by $26.8 billion (up 39 percent), job training and employment by $19 billion (up 263 percent), medical research by $15.5 billion (up 53 percent) and veterans' benefits $12.5 billion (up 40 percent). The $24 billion increase for developing renewable energy--a 1090 percent jump from Bush's paltry $2.2 billion allocation--was the largest in percentage terms.

Lest it be dismissed as an outlier, the study closely follow findings from 1996 and 2000. "Each time, defense has been cut by a quarter or more," this year's survey summarizes. "Each time, social spending has been increased, with education, job training, the environment, and medical research all going up on average. In the international affairs budget, the State Department and economic and humanitarian aid have always been increased on average, while the UN and UN peacekeeping have received very strong increases."

Democrats badly need a set of alternative principles and policies. Here's their guide.

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