John Hood
Raleigh – Every citizen who meets the basic requirements – adult, residence and felony conviction after conviction – can all vote in North Carolina. There should be no test of citizen knowledge required to exercise civil voting rights, nor should it be. (Our state constitution still contains the Jim Crow era literacy tests for votes, but this is genetic and unenforceable.)
That being said, it is difficult to maintain effective autonomy when voters lack basic information about candidates, issues and our constitutional system. Surveys show that this kind of ignorance is particularly common among young people. In the recent polls of 18 to 24-year-old Americans, only one in four knew that the vice president had disconnected in the U.S. Senate. Most people believe that the Election Academy also has responsibilities beyond electing a president, such as regulating campaign finance or certifying congressional elections.
In North Carolina, the latest High Point University poll tests the political knowledge of the country’s residents. Some disturbing results are not disastrous. Most survey respondents conducted in late January knew that Republicans currently control the U.S. House, although 13% said Democrats were indeed uncertain, while 22% were uncertain. Two-thirds identify the Republican Party as a more conservative party, with 55% knowing that the U.S. Supreme Court is a federal branch that has the power to declare a law unconstitutional.
But North Carolinas raise the question: “As far as you know, is the federal government spending more on social security or foreign aid?”
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Only 21% know the correct answer. Social security accounts for one-fifth of the total federal spending. Foreign aid is about 1%. Alas, most North Carolinas think foreign aid is a bigger spending (41%), or the United States spends the same spending on foreign aid and social security (10%). The rest admit they don’t know.
I admit that civic knowledge is not Danger. Voters don’t have to know which president sued the Mexican-American War (North Carolina’s own James Polk), nor the first to be impeached (another local Taal Heels Andrew Johnson) to exercise their franchise responsibly. Nevertheless, as the United States continues to fall into an unprecedented fiscal crisis, few of us have a firm grasp of its main causes and possible consequences.
If the current trend continues, publicly holding federal debt (excluding part of the government owes debt, crediting the debt to another) will reach a record 106% of GDP in 2027 and up to 122% of GDP by 2034. Now, Washington is paying more interest to bondholders than defense.
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The U.S. House of Representatives has just approved the budget targets that, if fully implemented in subsequent legislation, would extend the tax cuts enacted in President Trump’s first term (generally) and reduce future spending growth by trillions (also good). Unfortunately, in all reasonable circumstances, it also guarantees that, as far as the eyes see, trillions of dollars in flaws.
Why are voters not frustrated with all this? The reason is not the lack of attention. The vast majority say they are concerned about federal spending and deficits being “large” or “quite a lot”. The problem is that they misunderstood the reasons and underestimated the necessary remedies.
Too many left-leaning people think this is largely an income issue that can be addressed by hiking taxes on millionaires and billionaires. As I have pointed out many times, doing so may actually define federal revenue as part of GDP, just above a percentage point. But our deficit is close to 7% of GDP.
Too many direct tendencies believe that programs such as combating fraud and cutting some foreign aid will do the job. No. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, Defense, and debt services combined account for 76% of federal spending. Eliminate all other federal spending, still The budget cannot be balanced (Washington currently fundes nearly 30% of the budget through borrowing).
Voters should know the truth. They deserve the politicians’ willingness to speak.
John Hood is a member of the John Locke Foundation’s Board of Directors. His book Mountains, forests, and Water people Combine epic fantasy with American history (Folklorecycle.com).
This article originally appeared in Wilmington Starnews: Cutting foreign aid won’t end the U.S. fiscal crisis | Views
