This chart has appeared on a couple of other websites lately. I stole it for mine because I think it summarizes a fundamental problem we have in this country. In every poll, Americans say they want lower taxes, a balanced budget and deficit reduction. Fine. So do you. So do I. So does just about everyone. But when you ask people to get more specific about where they want to see cuts, you find that the answer is "Almost nowhere." They want more money spent on education. They want more money spent on veterans' benefits. They want more money spent on health care. Et cetera. The only place where there's any substantial willingness to slash is foreign aid…and foreign aid is less than 1% of the federal budget so cutting there isn't going to save much cash.
I don't have any great insights or ideas here. I just thought we need to stare this problem in the face. It's political dynamite to start slashing in any of these categories. If you cut education, you're harming children. If you cut veterans' benefits, you hate the troops. If you cut health care, people die. And so it goes.