(Bloomberg News) More than two-thirds of Americans, including a majority of Republicans, say wealthier people should pay more in taxes to bring down the budget deficit, and even larger numbers think Medicare and Social Security benefits should be left alone.
That sentiment on taxes is at odds with the Republican presidential candidates, who will meet tonight in a Bloomberg- Washington Post-sponsored debate focused on economic issues.
More than 8 out of 10 Americans say the middle class will have to make financial sacrifices to cut the federal deficit even as the public just as strongly opposes higher taxes on middle-income families, according to a Bloomberg-Washington Post national poll conducted Oct. 6-9.
"While Americans see sacrifice as inevitable for the middle-class, the only sacrifice to win majority support is a tax on those too wealthy to be considered middle-class," says J. Ann Selzer, president of Des Moines, Iowa-based Selzer & Co., which consults with Bloomberg News on polls.
The Republican candidates will address the budget deficit among the issues covered in tonight's debate at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, that will be the first of the campaign to focus on the economy. The event beginning at 8 p.m. Washington time will be broadcast on Bloomberg Television, Bloomberg Radio, and New Hampshire's television station WBIN-TV.
The poll also underscored differences between Republican supporters and the rest of the nation on the burden the military should bear in righting the country's fiscal situation, with 61 percent of party backers opposing defense cuts, while 60 percent of Democrats and 58 percent of independents support them.
While none of the Republican presidential candidates has backed a tax increase on households with more than $250,000 in annual income, 53 percent of self-identified Republicans said they would support such a measure to bring down the deficit.
The poll also underscores how unsettled the public mood is on the economy. More than half of all Americans think another financial crisis is likely within the next couple of years. Much of the nation doubts the winner of the presidential race will affect the economic situation or their personal finances, and those who do are about evenly split over who would do better.
An almost 2-to-1 majority rejects one remedy proposed by former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney to increase the number of legal immigration visas available to foreigners with advanced degrees in math, science or engineering. That idea is even less popular among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, with 63 percent opposed and 27 percent in favor.
Some business executives say their companies can't find suitable workers to fill high-skill job vacancies.