Nation IN BRIEF : NATIONWIDE : Most in Poll Support Domestic Spending

As the United States scales down its nuclear arsenal, the public overwhelmingly favors increased domestic spending over deficit reduction or tax relief as the best way to use any “peace dividend.” In a recent Gallup poll, two-thirds (67%) of Americans say that, should sharp cuts in military spending make funds available for other purposes, this “new” money should mainly go toward increased spending on domestic problems, such as homelessness, drugs, education and health care. The results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,003 adults conducted Oct. 3-6, 1991. The error attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or minus 3 percentage points.