Topics At A Glance: Iraq

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As you may know, the US (United States) government has been struggling with the question of how to deal with the federal budget deficit--i.e., the amount of money the government spends that exceeds the amount it takes in through taxes. Congress and the President have agreed there should be substantial reductions in the deficit. Today we are going to explore whether or not spending on national defense--that is, spending on the military and the development of weapons--should be reduced as part of an effort to reduce the deficit, and if so, how much it should be reduced and which programs should be reduced. Some people say the national defense budget should be reduced, while others say it should remain the same, or even be increased. We are going to do our best to help you get a better understanding of the federal deficit and the national defense budget by giving you some information. The deficit that Congress is struggling to deal with is projected to be $672 billion for next year, 2013. This does not include deficit spending related to Medicare, as this is dealt with in a separate budget with a separate revenue source. If Congress wants to reduce the $672 billion deficit, it has two options:it can raise taxes, it can reduce spending or both. We are going to focus on spending in the part of the budget that Congress has to approve every year, known as the discretionary budget. A key question we will ask you to consider is:whether and how much the deficit should be dealt with by reducing defense spending, as opposed to increasing taxes or reducing non-defense spending. But first, we want to show you five different ways of viewing the size of the national defense budget. In each case we would like to know if, from this perspective, defense spending is more or less than you expected, or about the same as you expected....First here is the discretionary budget for 2012. Discretionary spending areas, billions of dollars = base defense budget + Afghanistan/Iraq = total $677. Viewing it this way, is the amount of defense spending for 2012, much more than you expected, somewhat more than you expected, about what you expected, somewhat less than you expected, or much less than you expected?

PIPA/Knowledge Networks Poll, [Apr, 2012]

Now, as you may know, the federal budget ran a surplus for each year from 1998 to 2001. Since then, the federal budget has been running deficits and the total federal debt has increased from about 6 trillion dollars to nearly 15 trillion dollars today. What do you think was the biggest reason why the federal budget went from surplus to large deficits over the past decade?...The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the cost of domestic spending programs and President (Barack) Obama's stimulus plan, the tax cuts passed under President (George W.) Bush, the economic slowdown that began in 2007, the growing cost of Social Security and Medicare as more baby boomers retire

Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll, [Sep, 2011]

And, which do you think was the next biggest reason (why the federal budget went from surplus to large deficits over the past decade)?...The cost of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the cost of domestic spending programs and President (Barack) Obama's stimulus plan, the tax cuts passed under President (George W.) Bush, the economic slowdown that began in 2007, the growing cost of Social Security and Medicare as more baby boomers retire

Note: Asked of those who gave a first choice (97%)
Allstate/National Journal Heartland Monitor Poll, [Sep, 2011]

Topics At A Glance: Iraq

War with Iraq Worth the Costs

War with Iraq a Mistake

Terrorism and War in Iraq

National Building in Iraq

US Troop Levels in Iraq

US War Effort in Iraq

Approval Of Bush’s Handling Of Iraq

Vietnam vs. Iraq

Spending on Iraq

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