March 3-6, 2011: Ipsos-Public Affairs/Reuters Poll—Nationwide poll solicits the public۪s views on cutting federal programming to reduce the budget deficit.
“The following three programs account for over 60% of the total federal budget. In which of the following areas would you recommend cuts in order to reduce the federal budget deficit?…Defense spending, Medicare/Medicaid, Social Security”
51% Defense spending 
28% Medicare/Medicaid
18% Social Security
4% Other (Vol.)
10% None (Vol.)
2% Don’t know/Not sure
Subpopulation/Note: Asked of those who said they prefer cutting existing programs/cutting programs and raising taxes to reduce the budget deficit (59%). Adds to more than 100% due to multiple responses.
Survey by Reuters. Methodology: Conducted by Ipsos-Public Affairs, March 3 – March 6, 2011 and based on 1,040 telephone interviews. Sample: national adult. Interviews were conducted with respondents on landline telephone and cellular phones. [USIPSOSR.031011R.R5]
Formal Citation
Ipsos-Public Affairs/Reuters Poll, Mar,2011. Retrieved Mar-23-2011 from the iPOLL Databank, The Roper Center forPublic Opinion Research, University of Connecticut. http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu/data_access/ipoll/ipoll.html