Poll on Budget Deficit

This is from bobspring@bonnevilleresearch.com  of Bonneville Research.  It seems to be the clearest definition of the national deficit.  It would be interesting to hear Rich County's take on how to solve the budget deficit.

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.

The following is the part of the budget that Congress has to approve every year, known as the discretionary budget for 2012.

The critical question therefore before Congress 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".

Which of the following do you think Congress should do to address the discretionary budget deficit?