Dem
47
GOP
53
A new Gallup poll asked U.S. adults about the best way to reduce the federal deficit. There were seven choices, including both ways to raise more revenue and ways to cut spending. Here are the results:
The top choice, with nearly two-thirds of respondents in favor, was increasing taxes on the rich. The least popular choice was cutting Social Security and Medicare. There is surely a campaign message here for Democrats. For example, the Social Security trust fund is going to run dry in about 10 years if nothing is done. One very simple fix is to raise the cap. Currently, income above $176,100 is not subject to FICA payroll tax. The FICA tax could be made progressive and the upper limit abolished, so it would apply to all paychecks (and some other income) with no upper limit. This would "save" Social Security by raising payroll taxes on the rich. According to the poll, that would be a real winner.
Another popular proposal is fixing the tax code. That is very vague, of course, but the Democrats could turn it into "Get rid of the thousands of tax loopholes rich people use to avoid paying taxes." That would likely also be a winner. For example, the "carried interest" provision is a "feature" of the tax code that allows fund managers in private equity to arrange to get paid in a way that has their income technically be considered capital gains, and thus taxed at a low rate. Needless to say, if the Democrats harped on this and other tax loopholes they want to close it would be enormously popular. Other polls have consistently shown that economic issues top voters' concerns, and this poll gives a clear suggestion for an approach Democrats could take that would resonate with large numbers of voters. (V)