NOTE: What follows below is the report from the Voters' Voice Project released on Friday, July 14. The summary conclusions, data, and questions are presented as received by NH-Primary. The topic of the two reports are: 1. The funding priorities for the federal government and balancing the federal budget; 2. How citizens view the role of the federal government.
FUNDING PRIORITIES The purpose of this report is to identify which programs citizens would like to see cut in order to help balance the federal budget. Specifically, respondents were asked whether they think federal funding should be cut significantly, should not be cut, or whether funding should be increased significantly. TABLE 1 shows the funding preferences of New Hampshire citizens. As expected, the area which tops the list is foreign aid. Notice that two-thirds (67%) of citizens think that funding for foreign aid should be cut significantly, while only 3 percent support an increase. It should be noted that several national polls indicate that most Americans believe that the largest portion of the federal budget is spent on foreign aid. Apart from foreign aid, a majority of New Hampshire citizens would not support significant cuts in spending for each of the areas under investigation. At the same time, of course, a majority would not support a significant increase in most of the areas under investigation. But in some cases they would. Notice that most would support an increase in funding for jobs programs (54%), education (59%), and crime prevention (50%). TABLE 2 compares these results by party. Among Republicans, most would support cuts in foreign aid (70%) and welfare (56%). Interestingly, there are few partisan differences in terms of spending for some of the largest social programs in the country, including Medicaid, Medicare, and Social Security. TABLE 1 POSITION ON FUNDING FOR SELECTED PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO HELP BALANCE THE FEDERAL BUDGET Cut Do Not Cut Increase Funding Funding Funding Unsure Total Foreign Aid 67% 25 3 5 100% Welfare 46% 33 12 9 100% Defense Spending 39% 45 11 5 100% Public TV & Radio 32% 46 17 5 100% Medicaid 16% 52 27 5 100% Infrastructure 15% 50 31 4 100% Better Jobs 13% 30 54 3 100% Medicare 10% 51 35 4 100% Social Security 10% 59 27 4 100% Health Care 9% 39 45 7 100% Education 9% 30 59 2 100% Crime Prevention 8% 38 50 4 100% ---------------------------- TABLE 2 POSITION ON FUNDING FOR SELECTED PROGRAMS IN ORDER TO HELP BALANCE THE FEDERAL BUDGET COMPARED BY PARTY REGISTRATION Democrats Independents Republicans FOREIGN AID Cut Funding 62 66 71 Not Cut Funding 30 26 20 Increase Funding 3 4 2 Unsure 5 4 7 WELFARE Cut Funding 42 48 56 Not Cut Funding 37 30 29 Increase Funding 12 14 6 Unsure 9 8 9 DEFENSE SPENDING Cut Funding 43 43 29 Not Cut Funding 43 41 53 Increase Funding 6 12 14 Unsure 8 4 4 PUBLIC TV & RADIO Cut Funding 23 33 38 Not Cut Funding 53 46 43 Increase Funding 21 16 16 Unsure 3 5 3 MEDICAID Cut Funding 12 16 24 Not Cut Funding 54 52 51 Increase Funding 29 27 21 Unsure 5 5 4 INFRASTRUCTURE Cut Funding 12 13 18 Not Cut Funding 48 52 47 Increase Funding 36 30 30 Unsure 4 5 5 BETTER JOBS Cut Funding 11 13 20 Not Cut Funding 31 31 27 Increase Funding 57 54 48 Unsure 1 2 5 MEDICARE Cut Funding 9 11 15 Not Cut Funding 53 52 54 Increase Funding 35 34 26 Unsure 3 3 5 SOCIAL SECURITY Cut Funding 11 8 12 Not Cut Funding 58 67 59 Increase Funding 25 20 26 Unsure 6 5 3 HEALTH CARE Cut Funding 8 7 17 Not Cut Funding 38 46 37 Increase Funding 47 39 38 Unsure 7 8 8 EDUCATION Cut Funding 7 9 15 Not Cut Funding 30 29 36 Increase Funding 62 60 46 Unsure 1 2 3 CRIME PREVENTION Cut Funding 10 9 9 Not Cut Funding 40 38 40 Increase Funding 47 50 45 Unsure 3 3 6 CASES = 512 QUESTIONS USED IN THIS STUDY 1. Please tell me whether you think funding for the following programs should be cut significantly in order to help balance the federal budget, should not be cut, or whether funding should be increased significantly. 1. Aid to foreign countries? 1) Funding should be cut 2) Funding should not be cut 3) Funding should be increased 9) Unsure 2. Welfare programs? 3. Defense spending? 4. Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly? 5. Medicaid, the federal health program for the poor? 6. Social Security? 7. Education? 8. Public television and radio? 9. Infrastructure and construction projects, such as roads, bridges, and highways? 10. Creating more good jobs through training, education, or other programs? 11. Crime prevention? 12. Health Care? ___________________________________________________________________ THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT The purpose of this report is to identify how citizens view the role of the federal government. Specifically, respondents were asked whether they think government interferes too much in the lives of most Americans, or whether government does not do enough to solve the problems of most Americans. As shown in TABLE 1, 45 percent of citizens say government interferes too much in the private lives of most Americans, while 32 percent say government does not do enough to solve the problems of most Americans. TABLE 2 compares these results by ideology. As expected, conservatives (70%) are much more likely than liberals (21%) to say government interferes too much in the lives of most Americans. Older respondents are also more likely to express this view than younger adults [TABLE 3]. Similarly, males (53%) are more likely than females (39%) to express the view that government is to intrusive. [TABLE 4]. TABLE 1 DOES GOVERNMENT INTERFERE TOO MUCH IN THE LIVES OF MOST AMERICANS, OR DOES GOVERNMENT NOT DO ENOUGH TO SOLVE THE PROBLEMS OF MOST AMERICANS Interferes Too Much 45% Does Not Do Enough 32 Both/Neither 16 No Answer 7 TOTAL 100% CASES (512) __________________________ TABLE 2 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT COMPARED BY IDEOLOGY Liberal Moderate Conservative Interferes too much 21% 38% 70% Does not do enough 44 38 16 Both/Neither 23 18 9 No answer 12 6 4 TOTAL 100% 100% 100% CASES (86) (240) (159) ___________________ TABLE 3 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT COMPARED BY AGE 18-30 31-45 46-60 61+ Interferes too much 31% 40% 55% 55% Does not do enough 51 35 23 21 Both/Neither 14 18 17 14 No answer 4 7 5 10 TOTAL 100% 100% 100% 100% CASES (86) (187) (117) (112) ____________________ TABLE 4 ROLE OF GOVERNMENT COMPARED BY GENDER Male Female Interferes too much 53% 39% Does not do enough 25 37 Both/Neither 17 15 No answer 5 9 TOTAL 100% 100% CASES (235) (277) --------------------------- QUESTION USED IN THIS STUDY 1. Which comes closest to your view: government interferes too much in the lives of most Americans; OR, government does not do enough to solve the problems of most Americans? 1) Interferes too much 2) Does not do enough 8) Both (volunteered) 9) No answer