Most Americans say tax rich to balance budget: poll

[IDemo]

(Reuters) - 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.

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE7022AK20110103

[ck4829]

1. K&R

[xchrom]

2. Recommend

[supertruck97]

3. Well...duh!

47% of American pay absolutely no income tax. http://www.taxpolicycenter.org/publications/url.cfm?ID=1001289

So obviously, a large percentage of people will vote to increase taxes when it has 0 effect on them.

It means nothing to have people vote the government money out of someone else's bank account. When people vote to raise taxes on THEMSELVES, THAT will be a story worth discussing...

[ck4829]

4. The tax cuts for the wealthy are doing nothing for the economy

They have failed to stimulate job growth, to create prosperity, or to repair our infrastructure.

Getting rid of the tax cuts for the wealthy is getting rid of a very obsolete thing.

[Raksha]

5. I think you're in the wrong forum. n/t

[theophilus]

8. Look into the concept of Nobless Oblige. In times past the

Nobility (read super rich today)understood that to maintain their positions of privilege they had to give back to the communities that allowed them to exist. Today's crop of faux nobility seem to be too stupid, or too arrogant, to make the connection. Their toadies, those who are relatively poor and will never, never, never, never see wealth a fraction of the amount these folks have stick up for their rights to hog the half filled lifeboat as the ship goes down. Super silly twits. Anyway, study up a little....if you have the time.

[Democrats_win]

6. Common sense: get money from the people who have money!

[notesdev]

7. Ultimately spending cuts are necessary

There's no amount that can be taxed that can balance the budget at current spending levels; spending has increased well beyond the rate of inflation for over 30 years, with only a brief pause during the Clinton admin.

I think we need to ask ourselves what exactly we are buying with all that. It looks to me like the top things we are buying are a) a global military empire; and b) an invasive, pervasive security state that would embarrass George Orwell. I don't think this country wants those things, so our Congressional shoppers ought to put those shiny packages back on the shelf, and go back to make a budget that covers real necessities.

Congress like many others needs to get out of the debt-fueled faux prosperity materialist mentality and "get real".

[immoderate]

10. Based on your subject line I was about to disagree, but you are so right.

I think it's a given that an empire, at the state of decay that ours is in, necessarily imposes a security state.

We should withdraw, but recognize the world must deal with the instinct to imperialism. Or else we better learn Chinese. :)

--imm

[badtoworse]

9. Big deal! Was anyone expecting a different result?

[Javaman]

11. Sadly, most Americans aren't the ones who control the power.

while the top 2% ownes more than all the rest combined, they also have more influcence in politics.

aka money talks.

[Divine Discontent]

12. KICK & REC

[Swamp Rat]

13. We's also like military spending to be cut and the wars to end.