Pew Research Center for the People and the Press: Americans want it all

Survey results released February 10th reflect what is --- in my humble opinion --- most wrong with us Americans: We want it all. We want all the welfare safety nets. We want infra-structure investments by Uncle Sam. We want a strong defense. And we want no tax increases.

"The public’s taste for cuts in federal government spending on specific programs remains limited. More want to see spending increased than decreased on 15 of 18 issues tested. The only area where a plurality favors decreased spending is on economic assistance to needy people around the world; even here, just under half (45%) support spending cuts, while 21% say spending should be increased and 29% want to keep spending the same. In two other areas – military defense and assistance for the unemployed – the numbers favoring cutbacks are roughly equal to the numbers favoring increases."

Wanting it all, we make it almost impossible for our politicians in Washington to effectively address the deficit. And if we don't effectively address the deficit, we may one day discover that, wanting it all, we have nothing.