--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For almost 50 years polls have shown that…" description: "\"For almost 50 years polls have shown that a large majority of the public believe that the budget should be balanced, and for all that time they have el..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/herbert-stein-36530_american-politics_for-almost-50-years-polls-have-shown-tha_2990829.jpg" --- # For almost 50 years polls have shown that a large majority… ![“For almost 50 years polls have shown that a large majority of the public believe that the budget should be balanced, and for all that time they have elected office seekers who would not balance it. The public cares about deficits, but doesn't care much.” quote by Herbert Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/herbert-stein-36530_american-politics_for-almost-50-years-polls-have-shown-tha_2990829.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/herbert-stein-36530_american-politics_for-almost-50-years-polls-have-shown-tha_2990829.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/03f/herbert-stein-36530_american-politics_for-almost-50-years-polls-have-shown-tha_2990829.jpg) > “For almost 50 years polls have shown that a large majority of the public believe that the budget should be balanced, and for all that time they have elected office seekers who would not balance it. The public cares about deficits, but doesn't care much.” [Herbert Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-stein/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public wants balanced budgets but elects officials who ignore it; public concern for deficits is superficial. **In simple terms:** Public desires balance but lacks depth. Key Takeaway Demand accountability from leaders. Themes economics public opinion policy Mood critical analytical Type political educational When to use this quote - voter education - policy analysis - civic engagement Key Concepts budgetary discipline political accountability Questions to Reflect On - Why do voters overlook budget details? - How can we deepen public fiscal awareness? A Different Perspective Public may lack detailed understanding of fiscal policy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [American politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-politics/) [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Balanced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balanced/) [Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe/) [Budget Balanced](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budget-balanced-1103532/) [Budgets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/budgets/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Cares Deficits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cares-deficits-4699656/) [Deficit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deficit/) [Deficits Doesn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deficits-doesn-4699657/) [Majority](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority/) [Majority Public](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/majority-public-3617056/) [Office](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/office/) [Polls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/polls/) [Public Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/public-believe-1992142/) [Seekers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/seekers/) [Should](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/should/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I still think there is a residual desire amongst the majority of the public to be given a proper solution.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-blair/i-still-think-there-is-a-residual-desire-amongst-the-majority-of-the/) [Tony Blair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-blair/) > [“Nevertheless, the American people obviously did not want him removed over the charges. Opinion polls illustrated that a majority of the public, while troubled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-mccarthy/nevertheless-the-american-people-obviously-did-not-want-him-removed/) [Andrew McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-mccarthy/) > [Certainly in the modern age where everything is glossed over, when somebody speaks their mind, the majority of the public go, I'd love to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-waterman/certainly-in-the-modern-age-where-everything-is-glossed-over-when/) [Pete Waterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-waterman/) > [I find that the great majority of public servants across the entire political spectrum come because they believe in the United States and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/condoleezza-rice/i-find-that-the-great-majority-of-public-servants-across-the-entire/) [Condoleezza Rice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/condoleezza-rice/) > [The majority of the public are experiencing the impact of Tory austerity on their public services, from longer waiting times for operations to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wes-streeting/the-majority-of-the-public-are-experiencing-the-impact-of-tory/) [Wes Streeting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wes-streeting/) > [The headlines are critically important. The majority of the public reads little else when deciding whether or not they are interested.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-caples/the-headlines-are-critically-important-the-majority-of-the-public/) [John Caples](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-caples/) > [The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-caldwell/the-budget-should-be-balanced-the-treasury-should-be-refilled-public/) [Taylor Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-caldwell/) > [Getting the budget balanced, regulatory reform, tax reform - I think these lead to economic growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-young/getting-the-budget-balanced-regulatory-reform-tax-reform-i-think/) [Todd Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-young/) > [I don't want to cost jobs. My priority is jobs. And so what I do is I bring down the tax rates, lower deductions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitt-romney/i-don-t-want-to-cost-jobs-my-priority-is-jobs-and-so-what-i-do-is-i/) [Mitt Romney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitt-romney/) > [The national budget must be balanced. The public debt must be reduced; the arrogance of the authorities must be moderated and controlled. Payments to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-national-budget-must-be-balanced-the-public-debt-must-be-reduced/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The budget should be balanced, the treasury refilled, public debt reduced, the arrogance of officialdom tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/the-budget-should-be-balanced-the-treasury-refilled-public-debt/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [The budget should be balanced not by more taxes, but by reduction of follies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-hoover/the-budget-should-be-balanced-not-by-more-taxes-but-by-reduction-of/) [Herbert Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-hoover/) > [The budget should be balanced, the treasury should be refilled, the public debt should be reduced and the arrogance of public officials should be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-perot/the-budget-should-be-balanced-the-treasury-should-be-refilled-the/) [Ross Perot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-perot/) > [I believe that if we are able to, obviously we need to ensure that we have a robust budget that's balanced, but there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jagmeet-singh/i-believe-that-if-we-are-able-to-obviously-we-need-to-ensure-that-we/) [Jagmeet Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jagmeet-singh/) > [I don't understand the public, but I do believe the public is oversold and underrated every day. 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The bad news is that he'll be two weeks older.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/the-good-news-is-that-the-president-gets-another-chance-the-bad-news/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [You can never underestimate the ability of the Democrats to wet their finger and hold it in the wind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-can-never-underestimate-the-ability-of-the-democrats-to-wet-their/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) [Browse all 412 American politics quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/american-politics/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "For almost 50 years polls have shown that a large majority of the public believe that the budget should be balanced, and for all that time they have elected office seekers who would not balance it. 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