People of California show how stupid and spoiled they really are in new poll

LATIMES brings the stupid.

Californians object to increasing taxes in order to pare the state's massive budget deficit, and instead favor closing the breach through spending cuts. But they oppose cuts—and even prefer more spending—on programs that make up 85% of the state's general fund obligations, a new Los Angeles Times/USC Poll has found.

That paradox rests on Californians' firm belief that the state's deficit—estimated last week at nearly $25 billion over the next 18 months—can be squared through trimming waste and inefficiencies rather than cutting the programs they hold dear. Despite tens of billions that have been cut from the state budget in recent years, just a quarter of California voters believed that state services would have to be curtailed to close the deficit...
...Political figures often campaign on the notion that budgets can be brought swiftly into line by curbing waste, fraud or abuse. Schwarzenegger himself argued that he would find billions in savings that way—only to recant after he was elected and few easy cuts could be found...

...Voters embrace those notions wholeheartedly. Strong majorities of Democrats and Republicans, men and women, and voters of all ideological persuasions overwhelmingly said that the deficit could be overcome by cutting waste and correcting inefficiencies. Overall, 70% of voters said closing the budget gap would require only that waste be cut. Only 24% said deficit difficulties would force cuts in key programs — numbers which varied only slightly among groups that rarely agree on substantive issues.

Californians' rankings of their most cherished state-financed programs came with a full serving of irony: The more important Californians felt the programs were, the higher they ranked in state spending and the more savings they would represent if voters were willing to cut—which they weren't.