Polls: Americans concerned about fiscal cliff

As lawmakers begin efforts this week to work out a deal for tackling the so-called "fiscal cliff," a couple of new polls suggest that even while Americans believe it's critical Congress and the President reach a timely compromise on the issue, many remain skeptical about their ability to do so.

The "fiscal cliff," a combination of tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to go into effect January 2013, threatens to plunge the U.S. economy back into recession if left untended, according to many economists. The controversial Bush-era tax cuts are set to expire at the end of the year, and January 1, 2013 also marks the day when $1.2 trillion worth of budget cuts, which cut across domestic programs and the Pentagon, begin to go into effect unless Congress can reach a deal to offset them. On the same day, a payroll tax cut will expire, as will a deferment of payment cuts to Medicare physicians.

According to a new USA Today/Gallup poll, 49 percent of Americans believe it's "extremely important" the cliff be averted, and 33 percent say it's "very important." Large majorities of both Republicans, independents, and Democrats all say it's important the nation doesn't go over the cliff.

A new Pew Research Poll sheds some light into voters' cause for concern: Most see the fiscal cliff not only as a threat to the U.S. economy, but also as an event that will negatively impact their personal finances. Sixty-eight percent of Pew respondents said that allowing the spending cuts and tax hikes to go into place would have a "major effect" on the U.S. economy - and 62 percent that effect would be "mostly negative." Forty-four percent said going over the cliff would majorly impact their own financial situation, and most - 60 percent - predicted that impact would be a negative one.

Despite the perceived consequences that many Americans believe would result from a protracted stalemate over the impending economic debates, few have much faith that Congress, which returns for the lame duck session today, will reach an agreement by the end of the year, according to the polls.

More than half - 51 percent - of Pew respondents said they do not think President Obama and Republicans in Congress would be able to reach an agreement, while 38 percent predict they will. If a deal is not reach, the study suggests, the GOP will absorb much of the blame: 53 percent say they'll blame Republicans in Congress if action is not taken, while 29 percent would lay the fault on Mr. Obama, 10 percent would place responsibility on both, and 2 percent would blame neither.

Asked which party they think will compromise more in the negotiations, Gallup respondents pointed to the very real possibility that neither side would give ground, as happened with the so-called "supercommittee" negotiations that led to the fiscal cliff in the first place: 15 percent of national adults said Republicans would compromise more, 21 percent said Democrats will compromise more, 26 percent said both sides would compromise equally, and 34 percent said neither will compromise.

Even while they express concern over the fiscal cliff, however, many Americans say they don't exactly know what will happen if the nation goes over it: According to Pew, 26 percent say they understand its economic impacts "very well," 32 percent say they understand it "fairly well," 23 percent say "not too well," and 17 percent say "not well at all."

According to Gallup, only about a third of national adults - 31 percent - say they're paying attention "very closely" to the situation, while 40 percent say they're following it "somewhat closely."

[VICTORYDEM]

infantryman_1968 replies:

PS: Buy lots of ammo.
---

Planning multiple suicides?????

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[buzzm11]

EARLY RESULTS - BUDGET DEFICIT POLL

Do you support or oppose each of the following to help reduce the nation's budget deficit?

Raising taxes on households with incomes of 250 thousand dollars per year and higher
Support 7644
Oppose 106
Unsure 52

Raising taxes on the middle class
Support 638
Oppose 6159
Unsure 975

Reducing Social Security benefits
Support 132
Oppose 7473
Unsure 159

Reducing Medicare benefits
Support 121
Oppose 7445
Unsure 189

Reducing military spending?
Support 7174
Oppose 288
Unsure 330

Total Submissions: 7809

[rightontarget]

Now if you can only get our Congress to listen to the people, you might have something. So far they haven't. Time to vote them out!

[LHCT]

Everyone seems to fear going off the cliff! Its not really a cliff. Congress can make a deal in January and reverse anything. The markets are not stupid. They know taxes don't become taxes and cuts don't become actual cuts until they are implemented. Once the Bush tax cuts end on January 1st, it will become easier to put them back in place! Why? Once the tax cuts end, the new rates will be in effect but not yet implemented. People don't really pay taxes until April. Spending cuts don't happen immediately. Once the cuts are gone on 1/1/13, the Republicans will be obliged to vote for new tax cuts due to their tax pledges. So once the rates go up, they will be obliged to vote for tax cuts even if they don't include the rich. Tax cuts are tax cuts and the GOP will be obliged even if its not everyone. So the Democrats will be in a position of strength after 1/1/13 due to the tax pledge. So lets just wait till 1/2/13 and watch the GOP Congress scramble to reverse whatever they can. Duh! that's the REAL STORY!

[wfw3536]

If Americans were so concerned they wouldn't have voted for Obama, as he spends a trillion dollars a year we have to borrow, Obama will raise taxes on just about everyone with Obamacare( one example if you need any sort of medical device be prepared to pay), and if you own a business be prepared for higher taxes.

[LHCT]

The election is over! Time to stop exaggerating.

[LHCT]

Commnent

[buzzm11]

Total Federal Revenue (TREV) .vs GDP

...........in trillions
YEAR....TREV ..GDP.. = TREV % of GDP
FY1996 1.453 07.718 = 18.8
FY1997 1.579 08.212 = 19.2
FY1998 1.721 08.663 = 19.9
FY1999 1.827 09.208 = 19.8
FY2000 2.025 09.821 = 20.6
FY2001 1.991 10.225 = 19.5 Bush Tax Cuts
FY2002 1.853 10.554 = 17.6
FY2003 1.783 10.980 = 16.2 Bush Tax Cuts
FY2004 1.880 11.686 = 16.1 Ninja
FY2005 2.154 12.446 = 17.3 Ninja
FY2006 2.407 13.225 = 18.2 Ninja
FY2007 2.568 13.896 = 18.5 Ninja
FY2008 2.524 14.439 = 17.5 Recession
FY2009 2.105 14.237 = 14.8 Bush Final Budget
FY2010 2.162 14.576 = 14.8
FY2011 2.302 15.163 = 15.2 Payroll Tax Cut
FY2012 2.449 15.776 = 15.5 Payroll Tax Cut

[Michael_Graves]

Obama has been a successful president... when it comes to dividing Americans. It's quite sad. He plays politics with words like "fair share." Sure, let's go ahead and tax the rich more. It's not going to make even the tiniest of dents in his massive spending.

It doesn't matter how much taxes rich people paid before. Never has spending been this out of control. What they SHOULD do is cut spending dramatically. Then and ONLY then should they talk new revenue. That's just common sense. New revenue just to waste it makes ZERO sense.

[hillzhaveays]

mike, the Liberal party has turned into a pack of greedy little pigs.

They don't want to hear that the Bush Tax Cuts actually helped stimulate the economy and increase federal revenue - (see NYT July 2005: "Most of the increase in individual tax receipts appears to have come from higher stock market gains and the business income of relatively wealthy taxpayers. The biggest jump was not from taxes withheld from salaries but from quarterly payments on investment gains and business earnings, which were up 20 percent this year.").

They don't want to hear that the top 10% already pay $7 out every $10 - in fact, they acknowledge the rich already pay that much - they want them to pay more.

They don't want to hear that spending is out of control - to acknowledge that would be to jeopardize the free stuff they want.

They don't want to hear raising taxes on the rich will do nothing. They claim it's a "start". It's a start alright - to assuaging their rabid and burning wealth envy. Nothing else.

It's a real problem. And looks like we're stuck with it.

[Gamer_Czar]

I totally agree. What I don't understand how some of the posters here equate "raising taxes" with "cutting spending." How do you fix that?" I know 1st graders who understand the concepts that escape many of the people commenting here.

[hypnotoad72]

As long as communist supporters keep offshoring jobs to those countries, don't expect anything to get resolved. I've posted more details in the past. Time for me to move forward with other thoughts. But I digress. As long as communist supporters continue to eliminate middle class jobs here...

Unless Obama puts his foot does and employs, amongst other things, a default... and before people say anything about him doing that or my mentioning it, I've seen a few Romney supporters believe Romney would do the same thing if elected.

Either way, regardless of context, we don't know what's going to happen.

[CarsonCitySteve]

Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, Bush, it's all Bush's fault. Oh, and the GOP. Oh, and Romney. Oh, and Ryan. Oh, and and and and and .... You won. DO SOMETHING instead of blaming someone. It should be about the country, not winning an election(s).

[CarsonCitySteve]

Again. All I hear is a load of data. I don't give a damn about what happened in 2001 or the 1950's. I don't care who did what at any time, including the last four years. What I want to hear is what IS going to happen in the next four years. No more blame. No more, "I'm better because he's bad." What are YOU going to do now? Everything else is "gobble, gobble, turkey."

[oldpatriot2012]

Let the fiscal cliff come full force.
The congress will never cut spending and neither will the whitehouse, the fiscal cliff is the only hope we have of cutting spending. The presidents answer is to slam the rich, his proposal is an average 400,000 tax increase on those making more than 250k. What do we think will happen with these high income earners ? They will hide more money and work to shift their employment or income generation to another country. The funny thing is this is the exact class of people who have the ability to do that!

In the end the higher taxes on high earners will not solve the problem, it cannot solve the problem and eventually the tax burden will fall to the middle class - mark my words - tax increases for the middle class are coming in the next 4 years!

[hypnotoad72]

Low wages for the wealth creators.

Higher taxes for the wealth creators.

While the job creators sit back and laugh at everyone? Is that what you're describing?

[GoGoUsa]

Being an American is more than just hard work, it's attitude. And the attitude from the Right simply sucks.