By consistently substantial margins, participants including those in locations with large elderly populations vote to restrain spending on Social Security and Medicare. Participants in this process have major qualms about reductions in only one area education. Participants in this public exercise are recruited through local newspapers and television and radio stations, which cosponsor the events. The Committee mails invitations to randomly selected registered voters. And local chapters of the League of Women Voters, the Chamber of Commerce, and the American Association of Retired People help publicize the meetings.
Participants are a self-selected rather than a random sample.
Several factors help to explain this. First, unlike respondents to polling questions, participants in this process are forced to think about choices in the context of the larger budget. They quickly discover, for instance, that easy solutions such as cutting congressional pay or eliminating foreign aid save little. They must defend their positions and propose alternatives in order to reach compromises. The resulting budgets reflect group rulings, not individual opinions.