Americans are very ill-informed about federal spending

From Politico:

“There are widespread misperceptions about the state of the federal budget. A majority of voters incorrectly believes the federal government spends more on defense/foreign aid than it does on Medicare and Social Security (63%). Also, a similar majority (60%) incorrectly believes problems with the federal budget can be fixed by just eliminating waste, fraud and abuse. Voters do not casually agree with these untruths – at least 40% strongly agree. Further, less than half (44%) believe Medicare and Social Security costs are a major source of problems for the federal budget (49% disagree). 

“The waste in government is a strong concern to voters – again 60% believe fixing the waste will solve the nation’s budget problems, and voters say that a mean of 42% of each federal dollar is wasted.”

Boehner Dares to Touch the Third Rail: Social Security

"People in Washington assume that Americans understand how big the problem is, but most Americans don't have a clue," Boehner told The Wall Street Journal's Naftali Bendavid and Janet Hook. "I think it's incumbent on us, if we are serious about dealing with the big challenges, that we go out and help Americans understand how big the problem is that faces us. ... Once they understand how big the problem is, I think people will be more receptive to what the possible solutions may be."