(MONEY Magazine) – When MONEY readers recommend trimming the fat in Washington, they're not talking about President Clinton's waistline. More than 10,000 of you responded to our April poll, which asked, "What cuts would you make in government spending?" You weren't shy about slashing. You lined up the usual suspects -- defense, foreign aid, subsidies for the arts -- but, quite surprisingly, nearly half of you said entitlements for the elderly should be targeted for cuts as well. Indeed, 47% of all respondents said they would support a reduction in Social Security benefits. Pork-barrel projects and perks for politicians were assailed with a passion, of course. Among the thousands of people who not only answered our questions but also wrote in their nominations for the worst examples of "wretched excess," the highest percentage of them -- 32% -- singled out "perks" for people in the White House and Congress. And nearly 10% of those who wrote to us used the words, "Cut the pork," referring to spending items added onto bills by senators and members of the House for the benefit of their own constituents. In response to MONEY's questions about specific areas that readers might want to target for cuts, you focused overwhelmingly on two favorites: 97% of poll participants named the defense budget and 85% wanted the United States to eliminate half of all foreign aid -- with the notable exception of funds for Russia. The full results of the poll, reported below, were based on a statistically valid representative sample of all responses. The estimated savings apply to fiscal year 1994, based on calculations of the Congressional Budget Office.

DEFENSE "If you favor an across-the-board cut in defense spending," we asked, "how much should it be?" Though Congress is likely to trim less, a surprising 54% of you want to cut 8% or more, 34% electing for 8%, which would save $24 billion in fiscal year 1994, and nearly 20% supported larger reductions. Another 28% voted for 4%, a $12 billion saving, and 15% advocated 2% for a $6 billion trim.

FOREIGN AID Charity begins at home for an overwhelming majority of our readers. But even while supporting the suggestion that the U.S. cut foreign aid in half to save $10 billion, many of the 85% who favor that suggested exempting help for Russia.

SOCIAL SECURITY Congress and President Clinton are reluctant to challenge the assumption that America would not tolerate any reduction in entitlements for the elderly. But there seems to be more popular support for a decrease than politicians think. We asked whether Social Security benefits should be cut. Surprisingly, 47% said yes (51% said no, and 2% did not answer). We then said, "If you favor a cut in Social Security benefits, do you think it should take the form of a one-year freeze on cost-of-living increases?" Of those who answered, a high 44% said yes.

MEDICARE AND MEDICAID Medicaid and Medicare weren't safe either. A majority of 53% of respondents said that the government should trim the federal share of Medicaid and of Aid to Families with Dependent Children from 50% to 45%, saving $5.75 billion. And 55% voted to collect 20% co-payments from patients for all home health and skilled nursing facility services they receive under Medicare, for a saving of $2.3 billion.

SPACE Respondents did reject the notion of slashing $1.4 billion from the budget by canceling the NASA space station program. Among them were people who noted that community leaders in Houston, the home of the space center, estimate that such a move could eliminate as many as 85,000 jobs overall. The message: One man's pork is another man's bread and butter.

POPULAR POLITICAL TARGETS Two of three items we described as popular political targets turned out to be targets of Money readers too. A full 57% of respondents want the government to stop funding the superconducting supercollider, a fiscal year saving of $200 million; 68% favor saving $380 million by cutting half the federal subsidies for cultural projects like the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities. But nearly three-fourths of readers rejected the idea of trimming $230 million from the budget by a 50% cut of block grants for preventive health services and maternal and child health care.