Friday, April 16, 2004
America Thinks Bush Is Wrong on Tax Cuts
According to an AP Poll:
By almost a 2-1 margin, Americans prefer balancing the nation's budget to cutting taxes, according to an Associated Press poll, even though many believe their overall tax burden has risen despite tax cuts over the past three years.
About six in 10, 61 percent, chose balancing the budget while 36 percent chose tax cuts when they were asked which was more important, according to a poll conducted for the AP by Ipsos Public Affairs.
As the nation's tax deadline of April 15 approaches, people's lukewarm feeling about tax cuts may be influenced by a belief that recent cuts haven't helped them personally.
Half in the poll, 49 percent, said their overall tax burden -- including federal, state and local taxes -- had gone up over the past three years. That's almost four times the 13 percent in the poll who said their overall taxes had gone down.
Meanwhile, a poll in Money magazine puts it pretty bluntly as well:
76% of Americans said they would have preferred the government devote resources to job programs instead of tax cuts in 2003…
…[And] more Americans say they would also have chosen reducing the federal deficit (49%) over tax cuts (42%) last year.
By this reasoning, John Kerry is wise to co-opt Howard Dean's message that Bush's tax cuts have only served to increase tax elsewhere, amounting to a virtual tax hike. Thanks to Liberal Oasis...
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