Pose the Question Carefully.

A recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll asked two very similar questions

with very different results:







(1)  Do you favor cutting programs such as social security, medicare, Medicaid, and farm subsidies to reduce the budget deficit?

The results: 23% favor; 66% oppose; 11% no opinion.

(2)  Do you favor cutting government entitlements to reduce the budget
deficit?

The results: 61% favor; 25% oppose, 14% no opinion.



Source: American Statistical Association,
"What Is A Survey"