The pundits and the elites in both parties want to cut the deficit by slashing the social safety net for the poor and the middle class, and they seem to think they're right in the sweet spot of public opinion with that idea. It turns out they're wrong. Way wrong,

[according to] the results of an ingenious study of public opinion where a representative sample of Americans, asked how they would reduce their deficit, were presented with actual budget numbers and worked their way through a series of tradeoffs. (Try it yourself.) While the details vary, the White House and Republican leaders both basically want to reduce the deficit by cutting social programs, preserving defense spending and raising taxes relatively little or not at all. The public, by contrast, would do it primarily by cutting defense spending and imposing significantly higher and more progressive taxes on the rich -- while at the same time dramatically increasing spending in such areas as job training, higher education and humanitarian aid.

The questionnaire was given to more than 2000 respondents, and they broke in some striking ways from conventional wisdom: