Evan Lewis

How the American Public Would Deal with the Budget Deficit

The Program for Public Consultation seeks to improve democratic governance by helping governments consult their citizenry on the key public policy issues the government faces. Unlike standard polls, in public consultations respondents are presented information that helps simulate the issues and tradeoffs faced by policymakers. PPC has been established to develop the methods and theory of public consultation and to conduct public consultations. PPC is a joint program of the Center on Policy Attitudes and the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland The Center on Policy Attitudes (COPA) was established in 1992 with the purpose of giving public opinion a greater voice in the public policy process. COPA conducts in-depth studies of public opinion that include polls, focus groups and interviews. It integrates its findings together with those of other organizations. In addition to PPC, COPA has a joint program with the Center for International and Security Studies at the University of Maryland called the Program on International Policy Attitudes. (College Park) is one of the nations leading graduate programs devoted to the study of public policy, management and international affairs. It is the only policy school in the Washington area that is embedded in a major research university and combines both domestic and international policy studies under one roof. Knowledge Networks is a polling, social science, and market research firm based in Menlo Park, California. Knowledge Networks uses a large-scale nationwide research panel which is randomly selected from the national population of households having telephones and is subsequently provided internet access for the completion of surveys (and thus is not limited to those who already have internet access). Acknowledgements The staff of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform provided key input in the design of this project and provided critical information. Eric Todor of the Tax Policy Center provided invaluable input in developing numerous parts of the budget exercise.