Cut It To the Bone, But Not THAT

Both parties have embraced the narrative that voters want to see public spending drastically reduced, despite the fact that the polls all show that while “cutting spending” is popular in the abstract, voters don't want to see any specific programs cut; the only roads toward reducing the deficit that voters favor are raising taxes on the wealthiest and reducing military spending significantly – two things that aren't on the table in the current debate.
~ from The Utterly Wrong Beltway Myth Driving the Debt Ceiling Insanity by Joshua Holland ~

As usual, Holland pens a great essay and I encourage to read the whole thing. For my purposes this morning, I want to focus on the clause I put in bold.

In general, I agree with a point political satirist Bill Maher has made over and over again: In general terms, Americans are stupid people. Owing to the concerted misinformation campaigns of our leaders and the mainstream media, some people might assert that far too many Americans simply are ill-informed and, thus, ignorant, not stupid. I would agree to the word ignorant, except too many of my fellow countrymen seem to refuse to employ any degree of analytical skills on their own -- which leads me back to stupid!

There have been a few polls as of late that show that people who benefit from government programs or assistance seem unable to put two and two together. It's enough to make me want to pull my hair out -- what little I have -- when I read that people on Food Stamps or receiving Pell Grants claim that they do not receive any government assistance! Where do they think such things come from? Magic unicorns?

So, now we learn that many Americans want the budget slashed to the bone, but they concurrently don't want the programs they benefit from touched. While I certainly support steep cuts in military spending and tax increases on the wealthy, I am brainy enough to know that these two strategies alone will not get us out of debt. If a person buys into the idea that the deficit is the most pressing national economic problem -- I do not -- then you must also understand that slashing the budget to the bone will adversely impact all those programs and services people hold dear.

Why is this so difficult for most Americans to wrap their heads around?