Newsflash: Most Americans don't want to cut public broadcasting budget

Elmo and Ricky Gervaise
Shockingly, America doesn't hate Elmo
(Photo: Richard Termine/CPB)
 

You might of heard about the amusing CNN poll showing that most Americans don't really have a firm grasp of the details federal budget. For example, the median poll respondent thought the Corporation for Public Broadcasting gets 5% of the federal budget, which would translate to a whopping $178 billion. Their actual funding is $420 million, so the public has a 424-fold overestimate of what the real amount is.

Even though the public did understand that things like Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security are bigger-ticket items, it's still amusing that they were off by so much when it comes to the CPB. But even more amusing is this, considering the GOP push for austerity: despite thinking that CPB gets 5% of the federal budget, 53% of Americans want to either keep its funding level the same or increase it. 19% want to decrease it a little, 11% want to decrease it a lot, and just 16% want to eliminate it entirely. (The GOP sided with the 11% who want to decrease it a lot, proposing to cut $86 million and barring it from funding any NPR station.)

At some point, both the public and politicians are going to have to accept the fact that repealing all of the Bush tax cuts needs to be on the table if we want to be serious about long-term fiscal stability. But I wouldn't bet on that polling well either.


Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/xdnsDf22Bc8/-Newsflash:-Most-Americans-dont-want-to-cut-public-broadcasting-budget

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Gallup: Americans side with unions over governors

Gallup (3/25-27, MoE: ±4%, adults, no trendlines):

Gallup union poll March 2011

These results are welcome?and unsurprising. As Gallup notes, Americans have long had positive views of labor unions, which shows you just how unwise it was for these Republican governors to pick this particular fight. (When you drink the Club for Growth kool-aid, every piece of anti-worker legislation looks tasty.)

But as we've also seen, Republican governors pushing unpopular anti-union legislation have been getting hammered in the polls in state after state?Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan, Florida. Voters have made it clear they would eagerly toss them all if they could get a do-over. With any luck, recalls will provide that opportunity in a few places, but even if they don't, these GOP governors have already done a great job of firing up the opposition for 2012. I can't wait.


Source: http://feeds.dailykos.com/~r/dailykos/index/~3/OnLn34julpE/-Gallup:-Americans-side-with-unions-overgovernors

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Health-care law opens new fronts in abortion wars

A year after its passage, the federal health-care overhaul is opening fresh battlefields in an old and bitter debate. Almost immediately after the law took effect, five states passed bills that will prohibit private insurance plans sold on new state-based marketplaces from covering abortion, except...

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/11/AR2011031100333.html?wprss=rss_politics

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Obama urges lawmakers to avoid government shutdown

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama told Republican and Democratic leaders of Congress on Saturday that time was running short to agree on a budget deal and urged both sides to avoid a government shutdown.

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/Reuters/PoliticsNews/~3/9Pri2Opph0Q/us-usa-budget-obama-idUSTRE7305A520110402

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The Fix: Romney's tea party-friendly defense on health care

Mitt Romney made some of his most significant statements yet this weekend about the health care bill he signed as governor of Massachusetts, offering a preview of his defense for what many are expecting to be a potent line of attack for Romney's opponents.

Source: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/07/AR2011030701323.html?wprss=rss_politics

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