Demanding a federal budget that is fair, responsible, and meets our nation's priorities

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Public Opinion: Investment over Tax Cuts

Via a great blog called The Inclusionist, The Center for American Progress has put out a review of public opinion surveys that reflect changing opinions on the economy. One interesting finding: generally, American public opinion trends optimistic when it comes to personal prospects for getting ahead, and pessimistic in terms of the economy as a whole.

The dual nature of this economic viewpoint may be summarized as follows.

I. When it comes to their own individual and family situations, most people say that they are succeeding (and expect their kids to succeed), thanks to their hard work and personal sacrifice in the face of great obstacles. This allows them to tell a story where they and their families are the heroes and where their difficulties redound to their credit.

II. But, when they talk about how the economy is actually performing for “people like me” or for the entire nation or for the next generation as a whole, people are more forthright and forthcoming about the challenges that they themselves face. Now, they are not pitying themselves, but rather expressing concern for their children, their friends, their neighbors, their co-workers, and their fellow citizens.

This mindset gives rise to a number of demands that public policies could address- things like job training, retirement, health insurance, and education. And Americans generally want something done about these things even when presented with alternatives. The author found that, given a choice between investing in these demands or cutting taxes, most Americans prefer investment.

Polls regularly show that, as with the health care reform results cited above, the public would much prefer investment in education and training to the tax cut-centered agenda that conservatives have so relentlessly promoted. How strongly? A May 2005 Feldman Group poll found that Americans, by a 69 percent-to-26 percent margin, thought investing in education and training would be a more effective way to grow the country’s economy than cutting taxes. Similarly, a January 2003 Hart Research poll found 61 percent of the public in favor of “public investments in schools, health care, and job training to create jobs and help people get ahead, ” compared to 29 percent who believed in “large tax cuts for businesses and individuals to encourage investment and improve stock prices.”

Will politics catch up with how the public thinks?

The public attitude toward tax cuts might be characterized as “been there, done that.” But what the public hasn’t been able to experience is the kind of pro-security, pro-opportunity economic policies they so clearly desire. We shall see, moving forward, whether and to what extent America’s political parties will respond to these public preferences.