Americans have a decidedly mixed reaction to the “fiscal cliff” agreement reached by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama this week, with 43% saying they approve and 45% saying they disapprove. Two-thirds of Democrats approve of the agreement, while almost as many Republicans disapprove. Independents are slightly […] Read more »
Post fiscal cliff: The fix is in
… Voters are not saying to officeholders, “Do something about the debt! Anything! Raise taxes! Cut entitlement spending! Do whatever it takes to get this problem solved. Or else we’ll throw you out of office!” What officeholders hear from voters instead is: “Don’t you dare raise my taxes. Or cut […] Read more »
Americans Unsure if Best Times for U.S. Are Past or to Come
Americans are split when asked if the country’s best years are ahead of us or behind us, with views on the future quite differentiated across party lines. Republicans are much more pessimistic about the future of the country than are Democrats. [cont.] Frank Newport, Gallup Read more »
Very Conservative Americans Least Likely to Want Fiscal Cliff Compromise
Gallup asked Americans the following question on four successive weekends from Dec. 1-Dec. 22 — for a total sample size of 4,170 randomly selected national adults: What would you like to see government leaders in Washington do in the fiscal cliff negotiations — [ROTATED: stick to their principles and beliefs […] Read more »
A simple lesson from the fiscal cliff
Gallup has new numbers out today on the fiscal cliff. … The most striking of these is how bad the numbers for Republicans are, both for Speaker Boehner (26% approve of his handling) and for Republican leaders overall (26%). Striking, but not surprising. [cont.] Bryon Allen, WPA Opinion Research Read more »
Americans’ Optimism Wanes About Averting ‘Fiscal Cliff’
Americans’ optimism that President Barack Obama and congressional leaders will reach a budget agreement before Jan. 1 has waned somewhat over the past week. Fifty percent now believe this and 48% are doubtful, a change from the previous three weeks, when the solid majority of Americans were generally confident leaders […] Read more »