70% Of Americans Think Taxes Will Go Up By End Of Obama's Term

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Most Americans expect higher taxes

Nearly 70% of all Americans surveyed by Gallup say they expect higher taxes by the end of Obama's term. That could explain the difficulty selling a healthcare overhaul.


By Mark Silva

August 21, 2009

Reporting from Washington — Despite President Obama's promise that only taxpayers earning more than $250,000 a year will pay higher taxes to support the healthcare initiative that he is proposing, the vast majority of Americans surveyed believe that they will pay higher income taxes by the final year of Obama's term in 2012.

The apparently pervasive fear of higher taxes – with 68 percent of all Americans surveyed by the Gallup Poll saying they expect higher taxes by the end of Obama's term – could help explain widespread uncertainty about the president's plans for overhauling the delivery of health care and insurance.

More than one-third of all surveyed say they expect their taxes to be "a lot higher'' despite the president's assertion that 95 percent of all Americans are getting tax relief under his economic stimulus program and health-care plans for the future.

"Most Americans remain skeptical that the administration can pay for healthcare reform and its other programs without raising their taxes,'' Gallup's Jeffrey Jones reports today.

"The rise in expectations that taxes will go up probably is a reflection on Obama's ambitious domestic agenda,'' Jones reports.

The Gallup Poll's daily tracking of public approval for the job that Obama is performing also has recorded its lowest levels of support this week, with 51 percent voicing approval. Other polls this week, including the Pew Research Center's survey and a NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll, have recorded similar numbers.

Even though the Obama administration has advanced no plans to raise taxes "on any but the wealthiest Americans,'' Jones notes, the newest Gallup Poll shows that "even a majority of Americans in the lowest income group -- whose annual household incomes are less than $30,000 -- believe their taxes will go up.

Among those with an annual household income of $75,000 or more, 80 percent have told Gallup's pollsters that they believe they will pay higher income taxes by the end of Obama's term.

"But even Obama's political base has doubts about his being able to hold the line on income taxes,'' Jones reports, noting that 48 percent of Democrats expect their taxes to rise during his term.



http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/washingtondc/la-naw-obama-taxes22-2009aug22,0,2276570.story

To pay for Obamacare, most people have already figured out that the money has to come from somewhere, no matter what the man behind the curtain says.
 
I don't think he'll raise them.

If he does, he broke his promise, and he & the Dems would deserve the consequences, which I am certain would be very negative.

However, it is strange how much criticism he has already received for raising taxes, when most people have actually seen a cut. Usually, someone has to actually do something to take the blame for it.
 
I think most people are just getting in front of the issue. They understand that stuff like Obamacare can't be done without increased revenue, they don't want their taxes increased and hope that this will put some slow down on other issues they are disliking at the same time.
 
Personally, I want to know what the other 30% are thinking?

I have not seen much talk about preserving the tax cuts. If Congress allows them to expire, then every tax bracket is going to rise. Add in the healthcare debacle's pressure to raise taxes and it seems like it is a sure thing that taxes will go up.
 
Onceler said:
I don't think he'll raise them.

If he does, he broke his promise, and he & the Dems would deserve the consequences, which I am certain would be very negative.

However, it is strange how much criticism he has already received for raising taxes, when most people have actually seen a cut. Usually, someone has to actually do something to take the blame for it.
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No one can seriously doubt that the Democrats in Congress will vote to continue the 2001 Bush tax cuts. They'll take the easy route and not bring the issue up. When that happens the tax rates for the lower bracket earners will increase 50%, and Obama will have raised taxes on the poor more than on the rich. :)
 
Damocles said:
I think most people are just getting in front of the issue. They understand that stuff like Obamacare can't be done without increased revenue, they don't want their taxes increased and hope that this will put some slow down on other issues they are disliking at the same time.
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Americans are just completely and utterly irrational on this issue. We demand the most and highest quality of standard for government services in the world and refuse to pay for them. We expect our government do accomplish some of the most difficult tasks there are on moon beams and libertarian fairy dust but are unwilling to give up on any services that directly affect us while at the same time are unwilling to pay for those services they are unwilling to give up. It's just plain insane.
 
Superfreak said:
Personally, I want to know what the other 30% are thinking?

I have not seen much talk about preserving the tax cuts. If Congress allows them to expire, then every tax bracket is going to rise. Add in the healthcare debacle's pressure to raise taxes and it seems like it is a sure thing that taxes will go up.
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Well a rational answer would be that if we expect government services then we have to pay for them via taxation. If we don't want to pay those taxes then we cannot have those services. If we want to have Universal Health Care and balance the budget and pay off the national debt then we either have to raise taxes or we have to reduce or eliminate other programs or a combination of both. But somehow the American public seems to believe we can have our cake and eat it too.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
Americans are just completely and utterly irrational on this issue. We demand the most and highest quality of standard for government services in the world and refuse to pay for them. We expect our government do accomplish some of the most difficult tasks there are on moon beams and libertarian fairy dust but are unwilling to give up on any services that directly affect us while at the same time are unwilling to pay for those services they are unwilling to give up. It's just plain insane.
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The federal budget for 2010 is $3.6 trillion. $3.6 trillion. That's a lot of money. It seems to me Americans pay quite a lot of money in taxes. I would argue that Americans rightfully expect that money to be better spent, not let some dbag politician who can't manage our money off the hook by giving him/her more of our money.
 
Southern Man said:
No one can seriously doubt that the Democrats in Congress will vote to continue the 2001 Bush tax cuts. They'll take the easy route and not bring the issue up. When that happens the tax rates for the lower bracket earners will increase 50%, and Obama will have raised taxes on the poor more than on the rich. :)
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That has got to be about the dumbest thing you've ever posted. I can accept that sort of stupidity from someone who is as ignorant and mathematically impaired as say Sean Hannity, but not you SM. What you're saying is proportionatly true but in either a relative or absolute standpoint, it's completely wrong. If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, in terms of net increase in money paid in taxes, it will most definately impact those in the highest tax brackets.
 
cawacko said:
The federal budget for 2010 is $3.6 trillion. $3.6 trillion. That's a lot of money. It seems to me Americans pay quite a lot of money in taxes. I would argue that Americans rightfully expect that money to be better spent, not let some dbag politician who can't manage our money off the hook by giving him/her more of our money.
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No problem there and in that respect, for a free nation, we have the most affective government in the world. A point I take great pride in. The question is, if you want to balance the budget and reduce our tax burden, what are you willing to give up?

Coversely, if you want UHC, an infrastructure rebuilding program, etc, how much of an increase in your taxes are you willing to pay?
 
Mott the Hoople said:
Well a rational answer would be that if we expect government services then we have to pay for them via taxation. If we don't want to pay those taxes then we cannot have those services. If we want to have Universal Health Care and balance the budget and pay off the national debt then we either have to raise taxes or we have to reduce or eliminate other programs or a combination of both. But somehow the American public seems to believe we can have our cake and eat it too.
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I think most people would also believe that we could eliminate all of the waste in DC and come up with better plans that actually REDUCE costs. That INCREASE efficiency. Etc...

edit...Sorry Mott... looks like wacko already posted something similar... no need to readdress...
 
Mott the Hoople said:
No problem there and in that respect, for a free nation, we have the most affective government in the world. A point I take great pride in. The question is, if you want to balance the budget and reduce our tax burden, what are you willing to give up?

Coversely, if you want UHC, an infrastructure rebuilding program, etc, how much of an increase in your taxes are you willing to pay?
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I'd give up quite a bit. But then I think the government wallows in way too many things it has no business in, like marriage.
 
Mott the Hoople said:
That has got to be about the dumbest thing you've ever posted. I can accept that sort of stupidity from someone who is as ignorant and mathematically impaired as say Sean Hannity, but not you SM. What you're saying is proportionatly true but in either a relative or absolute standpoint, it's completely wrong. If the Bush tax cuts are allowed to expire, in terms of net increase in money paid in taxes, it will most definately impact those in the highest tax brackets.
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Its never dumb to compare percentages Mott; in fact its the only legitimate comparison when discussing tax rates, since a "rate" is a "percentage". What's dumb is you attempting to argue total dollars paid by the poor verses total dollars paid by the rich.

When the Democrats fought Bush's tax cuts in 2001 they argued that they were "tax cuts for the rich". Of course they ignored the fact that folks in the lowest bracket hardly pay anything to begin with. The fact is though, that Bush cut their rate from 15% down to 10% (a decrease of (15-10)/ 15 = 33%) while the rate at the highest bracket went down from 39.6% to 35% (a decrease of 11.6%).

Bush could have cut the lowest bracket down to zero and the total dollar amount saved by the poor would still have been a lot less than the total dollar amount saved by the rich.
 
Tax increases coming up? Naah we can continue to spend like drunken sailors while having wars and cutting taxes forever.
:clink:
 
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