Rasmussen Poll: 45% Say Sequester Not Deep Enough

Almost half of likely voters surveyed don’t think the budget cuts triggered by the sequester are deep enough, a new Rasmussen Reports poll finds.

Across-the-board discretionary spending cuts totaling $85.4 billion went into effect March 1 after Congress was unable to reach a budget agreement. Since then, defense, domestic and Medicare programs have seen their funding slashed.

The Rasmussen telephone survey found that 22 percent of respondents believe the sequester cut projected growth in spending too much. But 45 percent responded it didn’t go far enough. Fourteen percent thought the cuts were about right, while 19 percent said they were not sure.

President Barack Obama originally warned that if the sequester took effect criminals would be set free, teachers would be laid off, flu shots and cancer screenings would be cut and the unemployment rate might rise. He later walked those words back, and pundits, both conservative and liberal, said he had overplayed his hand.

Three weeks into sequestration, most say their lives are unaffected. The same Rasmussen poll found that just 12 percent think they have been hurt in a major way.

The survey was conducted March 24-25 and talked to 1,000 likely voters. It has a sampling error of +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence.