Poll: Waste Watchers

Analysis By Gary Langer, ABCNEWS.com

April 17 Tax day 2000 finds Americans a tad less grumpy
about the governments use of their hard-earned money. But
few see the feds as a model of careful spending.

On average, Americans say that for every dollar the federal government collects in taxes, 46 cents are wasted. Thats the lowest its been since 1993, and its down a dime from the all-time high in perceived waste, 56 cents, two years ago.

At the extremes, government spending has equal numbers of unqualified fans and unalloyed critics. Four percent of Americans say the federal government wastes 100 cents on every dollar it collects in taxes. Another four percent say it wastes none of it.

More of us are willing to split the dime, so to speak. About a third say the government wastes from one to 30 cents on the dollar; another third, 31 to 50 cents; and a quarter estimate the waste at 51 to 99 cents.

These perceptions of waste 46 cents on the dollar represents a mighty big hole in the bucket do much to explain public opinion on taxes and spending in general. Most people dont like paying taxes largely because they suspect so much of the cash is wasted a point of view cemented into the American psyche by Ronald Reagan. When people are persuaded that their tax money will be well-spent, or at least spent for a good cause on education, for example, or Social Security tax disgruntlement tends to dissipate.

Income, Outgo

In a surprising result, top-income Americans, who pay the most in taxes, are a little less suspicious of how its spent. People in households earning $75,000 or more estimate that the government wastes 41 cents on the dollar; among lower-income groups that skips up to 47 cents. Better-educated Americans also have a lower estimate of government waste. But theres not much difference among political persuasions.

Methodology

This ABCNEWS.com survey was conducted by telephone April 12-16, 2000, among a random national sample of 1,021 adults. The results have a three-point error margin. Field work by ICR-International Communications Research of Media, Pa.