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A majority of Americans believe their federal government is spending too much overall, but they overwhelmingly believe there's too little government spending on key sectors like education, health care and the social safety net.
A new AP/NORC poll finds 60% of adults saying the U.S. government spends too much, while 16% say it spends too little and 22% say it spends the right amount. Majorities of voters in all age ranges, Republicans and independents all agree with the sentiment that the government spends too much, while Democrats are divided on the question.
But when asked to rate their satisfaction with government spending in specific policy areas, the majority of adults said they believed there was too little spending on a variety of issues:
- 65% say there's too little government spending on education
- 63% say the same on health care
- 62% say the same on Social Security
- 62% on infrastructure
- 59% on assistance to the poor
- 58% on Medicare
A slim majority say there's too little spending on border security, childcare assistance, and drug rehabilitation.
A plurality say there's too little spending on the environment and law enforcement.
The only issue where the majority agrees that the government is spending too much is on assistance to other countries.
Unsurprisingly, these responses are driven significantly by partisan differences. Republicans are far more likely to believe the government spends too little on the border, the military and law enforcement; Democrats are more likely to believe the government spends too little on education, scientific research, health care, drug rehabilitation, the environment, and assistance for both childcare and the poor.
And there's virtual unanimity across partisan leaning that the government spends too little on infrastructure and Social Security.
The AP-NORC poll surveyed 1,081 adults online between March 16-20. The full sample has a error margin of +/- 4%.