Washington’s got a spending problem, and it’s screwing over working families. Billions have been blown on pet projects while rural towns fade, drugs run rampant and parents scrape by — that’s the racket we’re stuck in.

A new poll from Arc Insights, commissioned by Vote 4 America, proves it’s not just me griping: 82% of Americans see waste and fraud choking the system. Only 28% think D.C. cares about us when they sign the checks. People are angry, and they should be.

More than 1,000 voters — red, blue, independent — spilled it in this survey. Sixty percent want the budget gutted. Sixty-five percent say yank foreign aid and tackle the $36 trillion debt. And 62% back the Department of Government Efficiency to stop the madness. This isn’t some think-tank memo; it’s a lifeline for millions of families.

Here’s the deal: Cut the spending, and working people win big. Take that cash we’re sending overseas — 65% want it home — and picture what it does. Americans can get a real shot. A dad laid off from his manufacturing job opens a repair shop with a startup grant and puts food on the table without stress. A mom trades welfare for a paycheck because workforce training programs are finally funded. That’s not charity — that’s dignity.

Or look at the drug mess tearing us apart. Redirect those dollars so small towns can hire more police — men and women who know the neighborhoods, not just the paperwork. Families shouldn’t lose a child to fentanyl because a detox bed isn’t there when it counts.

And schools? Sixty-five percent trust local folks over D.C. to spend right. Slash the federal middleman and send that money straight to classrooms: new books, better classrooms, and maybe a teacher who’s not juggling two jobs. Parents working double shifts don’t need fancy programs; they need their kids to be learning.

DOGE is the muscle we’ve been praying for — and 62% of Americans support it. People want serious action to fix this problem, and 59% are hungry for more cuts. That’s good because every dollar we claw back from funding surgeries overseas or negligent redundancies across the federal government can pay for a welder’s tools or a patrol car’s gas. It’s math that feeds families.

This hits home. Too many of our neighbors are working day and night and can’t afford daycare. Cutting foreign aid alone won’t fix that because we need comprehensive structural reform to government spending. That includes discretionary and mandatory spending alike to redirect dollars to where it belongs: American families. Lawmakers should know the score: quit wasting our money and bring it back where it belongs. Even 39% of Democrats in the poll smell the stink — there’s a fight we can win together.

DOGE started the fire, but we need leaders with spine to finish it: chop the waste and fund the basics like jobs, safety and schools. We’re done watching cash vanish while our kids go without. Time to put American families first — let’s make it stick.

Ryan Taylor is a GOP strategist and partner at Perspective Strategies in Washington/InsideSources