No More Tax Cuts-Many Americans Would Kill Cuts to Avoid Deficit

ABC News.com ^ | Jan. 22 — , 2002 | ABC

[VRWC_minion]

No More Tax Cuts

Many Americans Would Kill Cuts to Avoid Deficit

Jan. 22 — Canceling George W. Bush's prized tax cut is more popular than keeping it — especially if doing so would help avoid a deficit, finds an ABCNEWS.com poll.

Sampling, data collection and tabulation for this poll were done by TNS Intersearch.

Fifty-two percent of adults say they'd support killing the tax cut "if doing so helped to avoid a deficit in the federal budget," while 32 percent would want the tax cut to go ahead — a 20-point margin in favor of canceling it.

Without the positive attribute of avoiding a deficit, dropping the tax cut is still preferred, but by less of a margin: Among respondents who were asked simply if they support or oppose canceling the tax cut, 45 percent favored canceling it, 36 percent keeping it.

The Tax Cut Dilemma
Measure	Support	Oppose	No Opinion

Cancel the tax cut

45%

36%

19%

Cancel tax cut if it avoids deficit

52%

32%

16%

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., last week urged dropping the tax cut for families with incomes of more than $130,000 a year. It's a sensitive issue for the Democrats, since some of them voted in favor of the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut.

Bush, for his part, has pledged the tax cut will stand.

This poll suggests that the views of Kennedy and his allies are most persuasive when coupled with the risk of a deficit. But a sizable number of people have no opinion on the issue, suggesting that neither side has yet firmly won its case in the public's mind.

Methodology

This ABCNEWS.com survey was conducted by telephone Jan. 17-20, 2002, among a random national sample of 853 adults. The results have a 3.5-point error margin. Sampling, data collection and tabulation by TNS Intersearch of Horsham, Pa.

Previous ABCNEWS polls can be found in our Poll Vault.

[Texaggie79]

Sampling, data collection and tabulation for this poll were done by TNS (Total Nonsensical SH#!) Intersearch.

[Long Cut]

It would seem that their "majority" is within their own margin of error. Since most other polls I've seen indicate that the public is in fact quite happy with the way things are being done by the President, I wouldn't sweat this. ABC's accuracy can be, shall we say, a bit poor at times.
Any network that can continue to employ an imbecile like Peter Jennings with a straight face doesn't deserve the credibility God gave a platypus.

[finnman69]

already posted here http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/613517/posts

[Michael Barnes]

If we run a defecit, that's fine by me. Cut spending in the Gov't. All us little people are fully aware of that concept. If you don't make enough, don't spend what you don't have!

[seamus]

Canceling George W. Bush's prized tax cut is more popular than keeping it — especially if doing so would help avoid a deficit, finds an ABCNEWS.com poll.

This is like asking if you think eating ice cream is a good idea -- "especially if doing so would make you thin and sexy."

The first part of the question has nothing to do with the former. And if Americans were as knowledgable about basic economics as they are about junk food, pollsters would have serious self-esteem problems because they'd keep getting ridiculed.

[smithson]

"Define adult ABC."

You ask too much of the All Bout Clinton network.

I wonder why they refer only to those polls that make Republicans look bad. Do you know? Do you think it's just an oversite by ABC?

[KQQL]

Many American are stupid, if they think by cutting "the tax cuts" which haven't even taken place will erase the deficits.
Bad/slow/ Economy causes deficits and not taxes !!>

[RoseofTexas]

Same here! I want FACTS about this poll before I believe it! ABC and all those other Human EXCREMENTS have a way of cooking poll numbers! They're known for all the shake- and-bake they did during the Rapist's term.

[kassie]

Yes, I noticed the wording too. Sounds like a clinton-ism for double talk.

[KeyLargo]

Was the poll taken on the steps of the welfare office?

[Tribune7]

ABC poll = Another Blatant Calumny poll.

Don't trust this stuff.

[BoldlyGoingNowhere]

So.. 853 people have their fingers on the pulse of the nation, huh? This is laughable. I imagine ABC did this poll right here in my moronic state of California.. it sounds about right.

[good1]

Yeh, Im sure the question is posed as, "Would you rather the government stop spending money to avoid a deficit, or would you rather they keep taking your money to avoid a defict".

Now there is the real question. I would love to see the poll numbers to this question. Carry on, FT.

[shawnlaw]

Question they asked: Would you agree to no more tax cuts if it avoid a deficit...

The question they didn't ask

Even if you knew;"

that killing the tax cut would extend the recession by 12 months to two years and weaken what recovery does occur...

that killing the tax cuts will not actually avoid a deficit, it will just increase the amount of money the socialists will spend and hide the actual increasing in the deficit...

that more pepole will be out of work longer, reducing overall tax base, thus increasing the deficit anyway...

that with more people out of work longer, there will be more "need" for social programs and increase in the deficit anyway...

that Teddy Kennedy will use your tax cut to fund his next Senatorial Campaign as he has for the last 40 years and will increase the deficit anyway...

that Tom Daschel will use your tax cut to fund a big magnetic dougnut in the middle of nowhere so that a bunch of Stanford and MIT brainiacs can spin little pieces of atoms at high speed in a little circle to see how big a bang they can get, and increase the deficit any way...

that congress will bail out Enron and its subsidiaries and the employees, spend millions on prosecuting the owners and end up with a deficit any way... others????

[laureldrive]

LET'S START WITH MICHAEL EISNER - HEAD OF THE COMPANY THAT OWNS ABC - DOUBLING, OR TRIPLING THE AMOUNT HE PAYS IN TAXES. Eisner, how about kicking in the tens of millions you've pocketed while your company's stock's been plummeting?

[<1/1,000,000th%]

Fake poll. Cut taxes.

[ATOMIC_PUNK]

ABCNEWS.com poll.

Another Bill Clinton Never Ending Whacko Socialist . communist poll

[Demidog]

What should make you even more nervous is Bush's exclamation that deficit spending is now "necessary."

[MeekOneGOP]

Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., last week urged dropping the tax cut for families with incomes of more than $130,000 a year. It's a sensitive issue for the Democrats, since some of them voted in favor of the 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax cut.

Bush, for his part, has pledged the tax cut will stand.

This poll suggests that the views of Kennedy and his allies are most persuasive when coupled with the risk of a deficit. But a sizable number of people have no opinion on the issue, suggesting that neither side has yet firmly won its case in the public's mind.

---

I'm so glad Bush keeps repeating the FACT that the money that the govmint has is NOT the govmint's money - it it the taxpayers money! !

Kennedy wants to continue the CWP (Class Warfare Party) tactic of telling folks that the taxpayers should NOT get to keep their money. What you won't hear him say is that those folks that pay the high taxes are the ones that create the great majority of jobs in this economy.

How many people that are poor have you ever worked for? I look back and by golly, every boss I ever worked for made more money than I did. But Kennedy would have you believe that they are bad folks and should be punished (some of them maybe a little bit - lol! not really).

If the DIMocRATS don't stop this soon, they will find themselves on the short end on the poll that counts - the one at the end of voting day in November.

Keep it up Mr. Kennedy! I can't wait for November 5th! !