… President Obama claims a mandate to raise taxes on the wealthy to reduce the deficit. Does the evidence back up that claim? Perhaps—it just depends on what evidence you are looking at. Some 60 percent of voters said that tax rates should either be “increased for all” or “increased […] Read more »
Do Americans hate the Norquist anti-tax pledge?
Eighty percent of Americans agree on almost nothing (even Olympic swimming!). But a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday found exactly such consensus on one of the central issues in the debate over the “fiscal cliff”: 85 percent of registered voters, including 77 percent of Republicans, said it was a “bad […] Read more »
PPIC: California Ready to Slay the Ghost of Jarvis
Gov. Jerry Brown’s job approval rating is at a record-high, Californians are feeling more positive about the direction of the state and while Proposition 13 remains popular, so too is the notion of a “split roll” – leaving residential property tax rates alone but taxing commercial properties at their market […] Read more »
Are National Polls About the Fiscal Cliff Worthless?
National polls show that Republicans would take the brunt of the blame for a dive over the so-called fiscal cliff. A Washington Post/Pew Research Survey released this week found that a majority of the public (53 percent) would point the finger at Republicans if Congress fails to reach a deal […] Read more »
Approaching the cliff
Voters often approach policy issues from a very different angle than do Washington elites. So it is with the fiscal cliff. Everyone thinks the debt and deficit are serious. Everyone thinks the problem should be fixed. The differences emerge on the “how.” While Washington fixates on which programs to cut […] Read more »
Results don’t jibe with economics
… There has always been a strong linkage between economics and politics. “Up” cycles helped incumbents. “Down” cycles hurt them. But in 2012 we saw most all incumbents returned, despite the plunge. Even now, as the politicians fiddle toward non-resolution of the so-called fiscal cliff, thereby threatening deepened recession, the […] Read more »