Jan 3, 2011

61% of Americans Think We Should Raise Taxes on the Wealthy (60 Minutes/VF Poll)

In a just-released  a 60 Minutes/Vanity Fair poll, 61% of respondents said that the "first thing" we should do to reduce the deficit is "increase taxes on the wealthy." The second place response was "cut defense spending," coming in at 20% of respondents, trailed by "cut Medicare" and "cut Social Security" at 4% and 3%. Two things leap out at me about these numbers. The first is that raising taxes on the rich absolutely tramples all the other responses in popularity. The second is that our political leaders seem to have priorities totally out-of-whack with the priorities expressed in this poll, since raising taxes on the wealthy turns out to be non-negotiable and cutting defense spending only a tiny bit higher on the scale of negotiability.

If you've got a couple of minutes, check out the rest of the 60 Minutes/VF poll, which asked some fun questions like "Which one of these fashion items would you most like to see fall out of style for good?" and "Which one of these fantasy worlds would you most like to visit?" Also on the list: "If you could snap your fingers and magically fix one troubled part of the world, which one of the following would you choose?" The favorite: Washington, DC - which beat out the Middle East, Haiti, Sub-Saharan Africa, and New Orleans for this auspicious prize.

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