Rasmussen: 54% Say Tax Hikes Bad for Economy; Only 11% of Obama's Promised 95% of Taxpayers Expect Their Taxes to Go Down
Update: White House Claims Pledge Still in Effect

Not really surprising news, but maybe a reminder that the charming, smooth-talking con man in the White House has not changed American thinking on taxes enough to give up hope.

Even more interesting numbers concern ObamaCare.

Just 16% of U.S. voters believe that tax increaseshelp the economy. A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds most voters (54%) say tax increases hurt the economy, a number that has been fairly consistent for more than a decade. Fourteen percent (14%) say tax increases have no impact, and 16% are not sure.

The survey was taken late last week, prior to Sunday TV appearances by top White House officials who, for the first time, refused to rule out middle class tax increases as a way to pay for the health care reform plan now working its way through Congress.

Even before the comments on Sunday, 41% of voters expected their own personal taxes to go up under the Obama administration.

During the campaign season, then-candidate Obama heavily publicized his commitment to cut taxes for 95% of Americans. Today, just 11% expect their taxes will go down during President Obama’s time in office. Thirty-four percent (34%) think they will stay the same and 14% aren’t sure.

Sixty-two percent (62%) of the nation’s entrepreneurs expect their taxes to go up.

While 41% currently expect their own taxes to go up, 78% say that if health care reform passes, middle class taxes are likely to go up.

Just 28% say they are willing to pay higher taxes so that all Americans can have health insurance.

There is an odd dynamic here. Consider: George Bush lowered taxes so much -- eliminating income tax entirely for millions of lower-income workers -- that the tax issue became almost a non-issue for Republicans. Or Democrats, too.

By solving the problem, mostly (at least to a bearable level), he removed it as an issue.

In a sense, then, George W. Bush undermined Republican popularity.

And, in his clumsy, thoughtless, graceless, buffoonish way, Barack Hussein Obama is giving that issue power again.

It will always be so. It's part of the political cycle. System, seeds, own destruction, some assembly required.

Nonsense: The White House claims that Obama will honor at least one of his promises.

"The president has made a very clear commitment to not raise taxes on middle-class families," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told a regular briefing.

"Let me be precise. The president's clear commitment is not to raise taxes on those making less than $250,000 a year," he said.

..

Gibbs said Obama's position on the issue had not changed. "I think the president has been clear on this. The first thing that we can do -- the most important thing that we can do right now is get our economy growing again," he said.

"We're going to have to make some decisions down the road on some of the president's legislative priorities and some of the things that Congress wants to do, to evaluate how we move back towards -- on a path toward fiscal sustainability."

Um, if he's not going to raise taxes, and wants to get back to a path of fiscal sustainability, why is he sky-rocketing spending?

Thanks to circa for the update.

posted by Ace at 04:25 PM

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