Americans Want a Chance to Vote on Deficit Commission’s Recommendations
President Obama’s bipartisan deficit reduction commission ultimately will propose tax hikes, spending cuts or a combination of the two to reduce the country's historic high debt, but most Americans feel they - and not Congress - should have the final say on whether the commission's proposals become law.
A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 58% of Adults believe voters should be given the chance to vote on the commission's recommendations rather than Congress. Just 24% disagree and feel Congress should have the final vote instead. Eighteen percent (18%) are not sure who should make the final decision. (To see survey question wording, click here.)
Among the proposals being considered by the commission is $751 billion in tax increases over 10 years, including a 15-cent increase in the gas tax that would be phased in starting in 2013. But only 25% of Americans are willing to pay higher taxes to reduce the deficit. Fifty-nine percent (59%) are not willing to pay more in taxes for that purpose, with another 15% undecided.
The full commission is reviewing initial proposals made by its co-chairmen, made public last week, and is expected to make final recommendations next month.
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The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on November 12-13, 2010 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.
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