45% Say Government Should Reduce Spending on Roads and Highways Until Budget is Balanced

The Obama administration is expected to announce more infrastructure spending as part of a new jobs plan in September, but Americans still think private companies will do more to create jobs than the government can.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that just 18% believe a billion dollars spent by the government on new highways would do more to create jobs than a billion dollars spent by private companies to expand business. Sixty-eight percent (68%) say private companies spending money to expand their own businesses would do more to create jobs. Another 14% are undecided. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Despite the nation’s infrastructure needs, 45% of Adults believe the government should cut spending for roads and highways until the federal budget is balanced. Nearly as many (40%) disagree. Another 16% are undecided.

Most Americans (63%) also support cutting spending on space exploration until the budget is balanced, while 27% disagree. Eleven percent (11%) more are undecided. Just after the launch of the last planned U.S. space shuttle in July, 50% of American Adults said the 30-year-old Space Shuttle program has been worth the expense to taxpayers. 

Recent polling has shown that voters support cuts in corporate welfare programs and Small Business Administration loan guarantees. Voters support providing college loans for all qualified students but oppose college tuition grants for middle class students that don’t have to be repaid.

These findings aren’t surprising considering Likely Voters have consistently said that decisions made by U.S. business leaders to help their own businesses grow will do more to create jobs than decisions made by government officials. 

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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on August 20-21, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.