Poll: Public says Obama tax plan more fair, helps economy

[highplainsdem]

Source: The Hill

Americans by a two-to-one margin say raising taxes on those who make more than $250,000 per year would both help the economy and make the tax system more fair, an encouraging sign for President Obama's election-year bid to reform the tax code.

According to a survey released Monday evening by the Pew Research Center, 44 percent say the president's tax proposal would help the economy, while an identical number say the plan would make the tax system more fair. Conversely, 22 percent say the proposed reform would hurt the economy, and 21 percent say it would make the system less fair.

Democrats are more likely to say the plan would help the economy (64 percent) than Republicans are to say it would hurt (41 percent). And independents split 41-18 percent in favor of the plan, an important sign for President Obama as he looks to appeal to swing voters.

The plan is also closely associated with the President, with nearly six in 10 correctly identifying the proposal as tied to Obama.

-snip-

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/238303-poll-americans-think-obama-tax-plan-more-fair-would-help-economy

---

The Hill suggests that Obama "might need to be more aggressive in promoting his proposal to earn political momentum from the popular plan" since about 20% of Americans don't known which candidate wants to raise taxes on people making over $250,000, and14% think Romney supports this. And when they were questioned about how much they'd heard about the tax debate, 2/3 said they'd heard little or nothing about it.

Link to the overview of the poll on the Pew website:

http://www.people-press.org/2012/07/16/raising-taxes-on-rich-seen-as-good-for-economy-fairness/1/

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

1. So if that's the case, why is this race so "close"?

[Inuca]

2. Because, overall, people are NOt happy

and things are not going particularly well. And most people do not have the time or interest to follow the details and understand the reasons why this is the case.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

5. It was more of a rhetorical question, but I totally get the point. They are blaming the wrong people

and that's exactly what the Republicans wanted. This country is screwed.

[LiberalLovinLug]

3. Also the MSM news shows

They are desperately trying to keep this a horse race.

They are doing things like giving just as much or more airtime outrage on simply the audacity of Obama to go after Mitt and Bain in such a direct hard-hitting way, calling it swiftboating. So ironic since they were the ones that supported swiftboating when the term was first coined. The truth of it has no bearing....in fact they must avoid talking about the essential truths behind it, much like Dan Rather's exposure of Bush's AWOL record, and concentrate on the trappings, so that Mitt can still hold onto a close second as long as his core supporters are never exposed to the truth about him, and (this is important), have it revealed as a top serious story and read out as such and given the gravitas and time it deserves.

We know there was a study that showed Obama has never had a 7 day cycle since he's been in office where the positive stories about him out-numbered the negative ones. The MSM will tilt the playing field as far to the right as they have to in order to keep the race close.

[progressoid]

4. The Hill suggests that Obama "might need to be more aggressive in promoting his proposal ...

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

6. How much more aggressive does he need to be? He and Biden are out there literally

spitting up a spleen, talking to Americans about this. The Corporate Media is ignoring them. We need more Democrats like my governor, Martin O'Malley, out there helping the president push this message.

We aren't the people who did harm to this country. Americans are blaming the WRONG people!!! Meanwhile, the Republicans are sitting back laughing. They don't give a shit about this nation. All they care about is defeating the president. It's SICK!!!

[Igel]

7. "more fair, less fair, dunno" numbers are 44-22-34.

In other words, when the "public" says that Obama's plan is more fair, the public is less than a majority.

Poll numbers are usually in the range Obama 47/Romney 45. Even if the only thing that voters cared about were taxes it would still be possible for the race to be close. Since it's not the only thing voters care about, for now it's a toss up. Until somebody breaks that 50+margin of error mark that's the way it is.