Blinded By Our Own Bias

With the current "faux" budget battle between the Democrats and Republicans we seem to lose touch with reality by our anger at the opposition; the reality that slips from our grasp is basically the world that most Americans live in.  Thus, voter apathy should not come as any surprise in light of the fact that what Americans WANT from government and what they GET are two totally different things!

The NORC Data Enclave at the University of Chicago recently released their biennial General Social Survey and they found that Americans WANT their tax dollars spent on the following, in order of importance:  

1. Education
2. Assistance to the Poor
3. Halting Crime
4. Social Security
5. The Environment
6. Dealing with Drug Addiction
7. Childcare
8. Healthcare
9. Drug Rehabilitation
10. Law Enforcement

If you take the 2010 federal budget and break it down you find that these are ACTUALLY our nation's budget priorities:

• Medicare, Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program
• Defense and Security-Related International Activities
• Social Security
• Safety Net Programs That Provide Aid to Individuals and Families Facing Hardships
• Benefits for Federal Retirees and Veterans
• Interest on Debt
• Transportation Infrastructure
• Education
• Scientific and Medical Research
• Non-Security International Affairs

Now, this is the first time since 1990 that healthcare did not make it into the top two priorities of the majority of Americans and most likely this is due to fatigue.  While this is the 27th biennial study conducted since 1973 it is the first since the 2008 financial meltdown. 

Obviously, there is a real disconnect between the masses that vote and the elites that govern.  Either the two parties are doing a poor job of connecting their priorities to those of the voters or the American voter really doesn't matter to the governing elites.

It should be quite obvious, as long as one is not blinded by their own bias', why their is so much anger on the right and so much apathy on the left.

UPDATE:

I found this site, which not only lists the priorities but also show a percentage amount and its obvious that neither party represents the people!