A Stricter Diet

Yesterday morning BFAD hosted an event with the Program for Public Consultation and the Center for Public Integrity to release a new public opinion survey, titled Consulting the American People on National Defense Spending. Their study provides a unique viewpoint on how Americans feel about defense spending, much of which BFAD has been saying all along.  As Matthew Leatherman pointed out:

The single biggest message from this survey, in my view, is that defense is still on the table for cuts. Many officials of both parties and both branches of government believe that the Pentagon has paid enough. Americans, using respondents from this survey as a measure, disagree markedly. They're ready for much stricter discipline than is currently on offer.

(What Kind of Defense Budget Would the American Public Make? from Stimson Center on Vimeo)

Of course, no major budgetary decisions will take place until after the November elections but, in the words of our own Gordon Adams, the survey serves as a reminder that the public “get[s] it: we built up, we are strong, the war is over, and it is time for Pentagon discipline.”