Most Americans Say Tax The Rich To Balance The Budget: Poll

NEW YORK: Most Americans think the United States should raise taxes for the rich to balance the budget, according to a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll released on Monday.

President Barack Obama last month signed into law a two-year extension of Bush-era tax cuts for millions of Americans, including the wealthiest, in a compromise with Republicans.

Republicans, who this week take control of the House of Representatives, want to extend all Bush-era tax cuts "permanently" for the middle class and wealthier Americans. They are also demanding spending cuts to curb the $1.3 trillion deficit.

Sixty-one percent of Americans polled would rather see taxes for the wealthy increased as a first step to tackling the deficit, the poll showed.

The next most popular way -- chosen by 20 percent -- was to cut defense spending.
Four percent would cut the Medicare government health insurance program for the elderly, and 3 percent would cut the Social Security retirement program, the poll showed.

Asked which part of the world they would fix first, the largest proportion of respondents -- 36 percent -- chose Washington, compared with 23 percent who picked the Middle East and 14 percent who chose Haiti.

The poll included a random sample of 1,067 adults across the United States from November 29 to December 2. The margin of error may be plus or minus 3 percentage points, 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair said.

(Reporting by Kristina Cooke; Editing by Daniel Trotta and Peter Cooney)

Copyright 2010 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions.

Comments

[elfish]

08:14 PM on 01/29/2011

Eisenhower and the CIA overthrew Mossedeh and replaced him with the Brutal and Corrupt Sha all to protect British petroleum.

Most of the problems in the Middle East have come from Eisenhower and Republican meddling in the afairs of other countries.

1. MISTAKE: Mossedeh was democratically elected and we over threw him and replaced him with the Sha. (So much for our commitment to Democracy.)

2. CONSEQENCE: The SHA was overthrown and Replaced by an ISLAMIC THEOCRACY.

3. CONSEQENCE: Russia Invaded Afghanistan to protect it is borders from  an ISLAMIC THEOCRACY.

4. CONSEQENCE: Because we disliked Iran, we supported Sa.dam and Iraq in Iran/Iraq war.

5. CONSEQENCE: Sa.dam ga.ssed his own people.

6. CONSEQUENCE: Sa.dam invaded Kuwait.

7. CONSEQUENCE: We helped the Mujahadeen beat the Soviets In Afghanistan.

8. CONSEQUENCE: The Mujahadeen spawned Al Qa.eda which caused 9/11.

9. CONSEQUENCE: We Invaded Iraq (a country that had nothing to do with 9/11).

10. CONSEQUENCE: War spending, coupled with tax cuts, added $5-trillion to debt and helped bankrupt the country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Mosaddegh

[elfish]

08:13 PM on 01/29/2011

5. CONSEQENCE: Sa.dam ga.ssed his own people.

6. CONSEQUENCE: Sa.dam invaded Kuwait.

7. CONSEQUENCE: We helped the Mujahadeen beat the Soviets In Afghanistan.

[elfish]

08:13 PM on 01/29/2011

5. CONSEQENCE: Sa.dam gassed his own people.

6. CONSEQUENCE: Sa.dam invaded Kuwait.

7. CONSEQUENCE: We helped the Mujahadeen beat the Soviets In Afghanistan.

[elfish]

08:13 PM on 01/29/2011

Eisenhower and the CIA overthrew Mossedeh and replaced him with the Brutal and Corrupt Sha all to protect British petroleum.

Most of the problems in the Middle East have come from Eisenhower and Republican meddling in the afairs of other countries.

1. MISTAKE: Mossedeh was democratically elected and we over threw him and replaced him with the Sha. (So much for our commitment to Democracy.)

2. CONSEQENCE: The SHA was overthrown and Replaced by an ISLAMIC THEOCRACY.

3. CONSEQENCE: Russia Invaded Afghanistan to protect it is borders from  an ISLAMIC THEOCRACY.

4. CONSEQENCE: Because we disliked Iran, we supported Sa.dam and Iraq in Iran/Iraq war.

[elfish]

08:11 PM on 01/29/2011

Eisenhower and the CIA overthrew Mossedeh and replaced him with the Brutal and Corrupt Sha all to protect British petroleum.

Most of the problems in the Middle East have come from Eisenhower and Republican meddling in the afairs of other countries.

1. MISTAKE: Mossedeh was democratically elected and we over threw him and replaced him with the Sha. (So much for our commitment to Democracy.)

2. CONSEQENCE: The SHA was overthrown and Replaced by an ISLAMIC THEOCRACY.

3. CONSEQENCE: Russia Invaded Afghanistan to protect it is borders from  an ISLAMIC THEOCRACY.

3. CONSEQENCE: Because we disliked Iran, we supported Sa.dam and Iraq in Iran/Iraq war.

4. CONSEQENCE: Sa.dam gassed his own people.

5. CONSEQUENCE: Sa.dam invaded Kuwait.

6. CONSEQUENCE: We helped the Mujahadeen beat the Soviets In Afghanistan.

7. CONSEQUENCE: The Mujahadeen spawned Al Qa.eda which caused 9/11.

8. CONSEQUENCE: We Invaded Iraq (a country that had nothing to do with 9/11).

9. CONSEQUENCE: War spending, coupled with tax cuts, added $5-trillion to debt and helped bankrupt the country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Mosaddegh

[SaveWillowpark]

02:37 PM on 01/29/2011

Restore taxes to pre-Bush levels, pull out of everywhere and let the world solve its own military problems. What I glean from the situation in Egypt right now is that if we stay out of other countries affairs people will free themselves. It is our interference that causes problems for the country in which we interfere and our budget. If we those two things we could get on with building a modern America that is clean and not subject to rising oil prices. My dream is being able to hop on a bullet train to visit my folks 1000 miles away in 3 hours!

[Rudym]

11:05 AM on 01/16/2011

The reason to tax the rich is simple. They can afford to pay it without having to either lose their home, or buy milk for theit kids. Someone has to pay for the increased eligibility of Americans to use food stamps because they lost their jobs to outsourcing.

[European1919]

10:33 AM on 01/16/2011

As soon as "the rich" are threatened with higher taxes they a) take steps to evade taxing and b) threaten that their moving their operations abroad is a serious threat to the nation's economy. Politicians, usually in cahoots with "the rich", will give in to this bullying instead of displaying some guts in the shape of standing up to them and passing legislation that will curb tax evasion.
Interestingly countries like Sweden or Norway, who have a pretty hefty progressive tax system do not have major issues with tax evasion - presumably because ALL strata of society actually identify with their country and its politics and social security system.

[AbrahamSadegh]

06:32 PM on 01/13/2011

The most wasteful and the most dangerous of all our major expenses is our military budget that exceeds that of the rest of the world combined!

I cannot help but believe that it is out of ignorance and fear that most of us do not consider the military budget as the first to be considered in terms of budget reduction.

Our military budget has nothing to do with the truth of our national security. It should be up front and center in regard to the most urgent issue requiring an honest and wise attention by the nation as a whole. In this respect the media plays the most important role in providing the nation with the truth of what is going on in regard to our military-industrial complex.

Every single American should at least care enough for the well being of our nation to read Professor Chalmers Johnson's "Dismantling the Military Empire: America's Last Best Hope" published in August of 2010.

And taxing the greedy millionaires and billionaires, that goes without saying.

[LONDON3]

12:18 PM on 01/06/2011

Problem is the RICH are who's running the country ..... never seen a poor politician

[Ramkshrestha]

09:49 AM on 01/06/2011

And they will balance their balance sheet from poor.

[MaryMay]

10:12 AM on 01/06/2011

Ramkshrestha, I'm beginning to wonder what "poor" is in this country. Every single time I go to the grocery store, there are people using the equivalent of government credit cards. I, a solidly middle-class consumer, do not buy the quality nor quantity of food those on "food stamps" buy.

Every time I go to pick up a prescription, I have to pay the full price, because I have to have a high deductible in order to be able to afford health care insurance. I have seen more times than I can say people handing over $2 or $3 as "co-pay" on their Medicaid plan. But I step up and pay $87 for a prescription, on top of a hefty monthly premium to the insurance company.

Everything is on the back of the middle class in my opinion. If you are "poor" you get food subsidies and Medicaid. If you don't have a job you don't pay taxes.

The middle class pays its way all the way down the line--from taxes to full costs of food and health care premiums. There is nothing to squeeze from the poor, and less and less from the middle class, so we are going to have to, at the end of the two-year extension, look for those who can afford to do so, to help out through higher taxes.

[Emmanuel Hall]

03:16 PM on 01/06/2011

Mary, You just cited all the reasons we need univesal health care in this country. I too, shop in grocery stores and see people using food stamps, but I have never seen them buying high quality food as you suggest.
Mary, if you believe peple on food stamps live a better quality of life than you do, find someone on food stamps and exchange your monthly food allowence for their stamps. Mary, do you have any idea how many poor people die each year because they cannot afford to buy medicines, even subsidized meds. But, thanks to President Obama that will change this year.

[studentintraining]

01:43 AM on 01/06/2011

Why don't we just all pay the same percentage in taxes and force our government to live within its means? Taxing the rich is not going to solve the problem they pay people to find tax loopholes. The real solution to this issue is to redo our tax code.

[Jeff1958]

09:48 AM on 01/06/2011

We don't pay the same percentages because it is inherently unfair that Bill Gates pays the same taxes as some homeless bag lady.

[bvgat]

09:53 AM on 01/06/2011

Are you serious? First off the homeless bag lady you use in your example more than likely pays no taxes. Why do you have an issue with everyone paying the same percentage?

[studentintraining]

12:33 PM on 01/06/2011

Why is that unfair if everyone is paying the same percentage? Why do you hate rich people and want what they earn? You need to start living your own life and eliminate your envy. Also that bag lady wouldn't be paying taxes if she didn't make anything that year.

[deadfed]

08:20 PM on 01/05/2011

end the federal reserve system, the entitlement programs, the military empire and we might have something...until then BOTH parties are just paying lip service to reducing the deficit...

http://deadfed.com/

[KAL-EL]

10:45 PM on 01/05/2011

I agree

[muck-raker]

06:42 AM on 01/06/2011

deadfed agreed F&F: :we have in this country the most corrupt institutio­ns the world has ever known. the Federal Reserve Banks has cheated Government of United States and people of United States out of enough money to pay national debt. The depredatio­ns and iniquities of Federal Reserve Board has cost this country enough money to pay national debt several times over. This evil institutio­n has impoverish­ed and ruined people of United States, has bankrupted itself, and has practicall­y bankrupted our Government­. It has done this through the defects of the law under which it operates and through corrupt practices of the moneyed vultures who control it.
Some people think Federal Reserve banks are United States Government institutio­ns. They are not . They are private credit monopolies which prey upon people of United States for benefit of themselves and their foreign customers; foreign and domestic speculator­s and swindlers; and rich and predatory money lenders. In that crew of financial pirates there are those who send money into States to buy votes to control our legislatio­n; and there are those who maintain internatio­nal propaganda for the purpose of deceiving us and of wheedling us into granting of new concession­s which will permit them to cover up their past misdeeds and set again in motion their gigantic train of crime.
These twelve private credit monopolies were deceitfull­y and disloyally foisted upon this country by bankers who came here from Europe and repaid us for our hospitalit­y by underminin­g American institutio­ns.” McFadden

[CarolinaYankee]

07:02 PM on 01/05/2011

I agree totally, tax the rich, they are not re-investing in our country they are investing outside of the U.S. and do not care about anyone but themselves, and how much richer they will be. Tax their butts off.

[bvgat]

08:01 PM on 01/05/2011

Funny - you obviously care so much about others that you have no regrets about taking more of their money to serve yourself.

[CarolinaYankee]

09:34 PM on 01/05/2011

It is not to serve ME, it is time they start paying taxes on all their wealth gotten by investing in other countries besides ours...And their tax shelters.... It is certainly NOT the rich who have made this country, it is the little guys who worked they way up, not the silver spooners.

[Longtimeliberal]

06:59 PM on 01/05/2011

We have been ripped off for decades-time to have Some Equity!