New poll shows Americans demand across the board federal spending cuts

Jan. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- BOHEMIA, NY – A new nationwide survey shows that Americans are “fed up” with big government and demand sweeping cuts in the budgets of all Federal departments and agencies.

Dan Weber, president of the Association of Mature American Citizens, released the results of the poll in which “the vast majority of the nearly 7,400 respondents said they favored across the boards budget reductions of at least 2% to 3%.”

The survey showed that 71% of respondents, nearly 5,300 of them, said the government should cut budgets by at least 3%.  Another 28% of them, or almost 2,100 respondents, said that that budgets should be reduced by no less than 2%.  

Weber said that he cannot understand why the House of Representatives is unwilling to agree to a small increase in the debt ceiling in exchange for at least two percent in spending cuts.  “Why can’t we just leave the decisions of what to cut to department secretaries and agency heads, subject to Congressional approval?”

The AMAC chief said that the association members who participated in its survey were “passionate about the need to cut the size of government.  Less than one percent opposed cutting department and agency budgets.  And, it’s no wonder when President Obama authorizes pay hikes for government workers in 2013 while ordinary taxpayers face unemployment, underemployment and a host of new government levies in the coming year.”

Weber also pointed out that the AMAC survey “is consistent with other independent polls conducted in recent years.  They have regularly shown that Americans are unhappy about the size and power of the Federal Government, with a majority indicating they feel big government is a threat to the economic future of the country.”

He suggested that now may be the time to “take the bull by the horns and enact legislation such as the Congressional Accountability Pay Act as proposed this week by Virginia Congressman Randy Forbes.  His bill would cut legislators’ pay every time federal spending rises. Thus, if spending goes up 10%, pay checks would be cut by 10%.”

As Forbes put it: “It’s one thing to say that we are going to pay (members of Congress) when they’ve done the job that we pay them to do.  But when they are not averting the major problem that’s facing the country — our out-of-control spending — I just don’t think they deserve the same compensation as if they succeed.”

In a related development, AMAC has posted a petition which states that in exchange for raising the debt ceiling one more time, the Obama administration must agree to a 2% across the board budget cut for 2014.

The 2% budget cut would be based on 2013 spending levels. Each Department Secretary will be responsible for making their respective budget cuts which will be subject to Congressional approval.

Members and their friends and families are encouraged to participate in the petition drive by logging on to this White House Web site: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/debt-ceiling-and-budget-cuts/cg3j70hB

NOTE TO EDITORS: Dan Weber is available for telephone interviews on this issue.  Please contact John Grimaldi at 917-846-8485 or jpgrimaldi@verizon.net to set up a chat.

ABOUT AMAC
The Association of Mature American Citizens [http://www.amac.us] is a vibrant, vital and conservative alternative to those organizations, such as AARP, that dominate the choices for mature Americans who want a say in the future of the nation.  Where those other organizations may boast of their power to set the agendas for their memberships, AMAC takes its marching orders from its members.  We act and speak on their behalf, protecting their interests, and offering a conservative insight on how to best solve the problems they face today.