Politics
Poll: 65% of Americans back Obama position on ‘fiscal cliff’
U.S. President Barack Obama (r) shakes hands with Speaker of the House John Boehner (l) during a meeting with bipartisan group of congressional leaders in the Roosevelt Room of the White House on November 16, 2012 in Washington, DC. PHOTO/Getty Images/Olivier Douliery
President Barack Obama appears to be winning the battle for public opinion as the US draws nearer to the “fiscal cliff”, with two-thirds of Americans saying he has a mandate to raise taxes on the wealthy.
With less than three weeks until the onset of US$600 billion in automatic tax rises and spending cuts that could trigger a new recession, polls on Wednesday showed the public overwhelmingly backed Mr Obama’s proposals over Republican austerity plans.
The survey will bolster Mr Obama as negotiations continue on reaching a deficit reduction deal before time runs out.
Obama has predicted that Republicans would cave in on raising taxes, saying they would not hold the middle-class “hostage”, while Republicans accused the White House of failing to offer serious spending cuts.
A Bloomberg News poll found that 65 percent of Americans believe Mr Obama’s election victory gave him the authority raise tax rates on families making more than US$250,000 a year.
Even 45 percent of Republicans agreed that Mr Obama’s defeat of Mitt Romney last month gave him a mandate to carry out his tax plans.
