Posted on 09/21/2011 9:24:21 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Pundits dismissed the president’s jobs and deficit reduction proposals as political grandstanding, but the American people appear to approve of many of the president’s ideas, according to a Gallup poll released today.
The survey of 1,004 adults — only about 44 percent of whom were Republicans or Republican-leaning independents — showed significant majorities support a majority of the individual components of the president’s plan.
For example, 70 percent favor increasing taxes on some corporations by eliminating certain tax deductions and 66 percent favor increasing income taxes on individuals earning at least $200,000 and families earning at least $250,000.
The first part of that is fine. I’m all for true tax reform. I like the idea of closing loopholes to ultimately lower taxes on corporations to increase their global competitiveness, as Paul Ryan says. But the second part is troubling. Gallup didn’t ask questions to determine the respondents’ general knowledge of the tax code, though, so it’s impossible to know whether those polled would still approve of increasing taxes on the rich if they knew the top 10 percent of earners pays 70 percent of federal income taxes or that the top 1 percent pays 38 percent while nearly half of U.S. households pay no taxes at all.
Majority support for other of the president’s nonsensical proposals are even more disheartening. Take this one: 73 percent support giving tax breaks to companies hiring people who have been unemployed for more than six months. Sounds good on its face, but, as Ed has said on his show, it’s a simple question of incentives: A tax break of a couple of thousand dollars will not motivate companies to hire workers at a salary of tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. The tax break will go only to those who would have hired new workers in the first place. That means more federal government spending, but not necessarily more jobs.
Large majorities also support providing more funds to hire teachers, police officers and firefighters (75 percent) and providing more funds for public works projects, including making repairs to more than 30,000 schools (72 percent). The wording of the questions might have something to do with those results — far harder to oppose hiring more “teachers, police officers and firefighters” than “state employees” and to oppose school repairs than other types of public works spending. It also perturbs me that the question suggests the federal government can “provide” more funds, when, in fact, all it can do is redistribute funds. If it was a question of “free money” or “Obama money from his stash,” as one supporter so memorably put it long ago, then, sure, I’d be a fan of hiring more teachers and making school repairs, too. But if it’s a question of adding to the debt that’s dragging down our economy in the first place and of penalizing the very people best positioned to create jobs and grow the economy, then I’d rather we not spend more money we don’t have, thank you very much.
The only proposal a majority of respondents did not support was the extension of the payroll tax cut — probably because Gallup called that what it actually is, “reducing Social Security taxes for workers and employers.” Forty-seven percent approved of that idea, while 49 percent disapproved. Does that mean the American people are aware SS is bound to go belly up eventually and don’t want to hearken the day? Or do they just see “Social Security” in a question and resist any kind of change to the program? I’d like to at least take that as a hopeful sign that the electorate is beginning to understand the precarious position of our entitlement programs. The results of the rest of the poll were depressing enough.
WHO does GALLUP talk to?
Great, can’t wait for all these new taxes to trickle down to the middle class.
Of course the majority support this. How do you think we got into this mess? All too many people want to live off of other people. People support the welfare state, the “safety net” and the graduated income tax. Ugly truth.
A sample of all adults in the U.S., half of whom aren’t even registered to vote and/or required to pay income tax.
Why can’t we just have a flat tax and eliminate all the deductions and not tax capital gains?
now ask the question in a poll.
Would you prefer your rich boss to be taxed more knowing he might lay off a couple of workers.
As for the rich who say they should pay more
THEN FRIGGING DO SO WHO IS STOPPING YOU.
Springer on fox this morning saying the rich should [pay more and not one person said why doesn’t he, why not give a check to Govt then and give up your tax rebate.
Do it up then, dummies.
Yup...
Keep 'em stupid, indoctrinated, and have ringers to play the bad guy, while fine print tax law subsidizes those same ringers (GE, GM, Buffett).
Looks like Gallop worked with a sample that would give them the outcome they were looking for. +-4% is not a good poll.
BS
And that’s why Obama is using the only argument left for his presidency; he’ll get yours from your neighbor - because it works. Leaders who rely on the population’s sin nature of envy to obtain and retain power are evil.
It's hard to see how anything else could be more equitable; it's amazing - and disheartening - why this common sense policy goes nowhere in Washington.
Do you know of anyone who would embrace such common sense conservative policies? Mmmm...let me think...
Americans also favor a repeal of obummercare- but the idiot Republicans are not beating that drum as they should...
Here’s the deal: It is simple to demand that rich people should pay more in federal taxes. To oppose that proposal is much more difficult.
Easy to say, but tough to fight it. It’s like using a bumper sticker to advance a proposal, and deriding the bumper sticker with a short essay.
Try telling people that the top 10% of income earners pay 60% of the tax, and that the bottom 50% pay only 3%.
A lot of people in America don’t want to hear the latter part of the argument. That, a testament to our welfare state. Ugh.
Well golly gee, then let’s look at the REAL polls: election results....
Have the “tax the rich bastards” candidates WON? Nope.
So Hussein and his crowd can cram it hard and deep.
A National Socialist picking a scapegoat.Now,where have I seen this movie before?
This poll is equivalent to the Ministry of Propaganda and Enlightenment telling Nazi Party members that everything is going well in Stalingrad.
Rule of Disinformation No. 22: Manufacture a new truth.
“22. Manufacture a new truth. Create your own expert(s), group(s), author(s), leader(s) or influence existing ones willing to forge new ground via scientific, investigative, or social research or testimony which concludes favorably. In this way, if you must actually address issues, you can do so authoritatively.”
Gallop: http://www.redstate.com/neil_stevens/2010/07/21/gallup-caught-lying-about-the-generic-ballot-trend/
AP: http://hotair.com/archives/2011/05/11/and-the-award-for-the-most-ridiculous-poll-sampling-goes-to/
etc. etc. etc.
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