Daily Kos/SEIU State of the Nation Poll: Huge support for Buffett Rule

[ProSense]

Daily Kos/SEIU State of the Nation Poll: Huge support for Buffett Rule

by David Nir

A little over a week ago, in a speech in support of his jobs plan, President Obama included a bit of populist rhetoric that immediately garnered a lot of attention:

And any reform should follow another simple principle: Middle-class families shouldn’t pay higher taxes than millionaires and billionaires. That’s pretty straightforward. It’s hard to argue against that. Warren Buffett’s secretary shouldn’t pay a higher tax rate than Warren Buffett. There is no justification for it.

<...>

Public Policy Polling for Daily Kos & SEIU. 9/15-18 . Registered voters. MoE ±3.1% (no trendlines):

Q: Do you support or oppose ensuring that people who make over a million dollars a year pay the same percentage of taxes or more on their total income as those who make less than a million dollars a year?

Support: 73
Oppose: 16
Not sure: 11

That's some of the strongest support I've ever seen for a proposal which would, of course, raise taxes. Though the Beltway press never discusses it, the idea of increasing taxes on the rich invariably polls very well, but here support is stratospheric. I think the Buffett Rule's explicit appeal to fairness is the key factor — as the president says, it's just hard to argue against.

Indeed, every demographic sub-group favors the idea. Republicans back it 66-17. Hell, even self-identified tea partiers, the weakest supporters, are at 52-29. Oh, and those making over $100,000? 73-16.

more

[tallahasseedem]

1. Of course the nation feels this way...

and it's up to us to make sure FOX doesn't do what they do and state otherwise. It's time to act...NOW!

[flpoljunkie]

2. What is it with the 30 to 45 year olds regarding President Obama's favorability?

Thirty to 45 year olds have a 29% approval to a 67% disapproval rating for the President. The other ranges are positive except he's two points down with those over 65.

What's going on here? He's way underwater with this age group, if this is not a typo.

It's the first question in the poll.

http://dailykos.com/weeklypolling/2011/9/22

[Chan790]

3. There's a number of things going on there.

It's my peer group so I have a bit of exposure to them. They're a bit more conservative on economics than their parents, we're the Reagan-era children...nostalgia. They're more likely to be liberal solely on account of the issues this President has not touched such as DOMA, marijuana legalization, environmentalism...essentially we're by small margin the libertarian left...and to a lot of my peers, the tea resonated. I don't recall a time post-HS when the consensus of my peers wasn't to kill SS because won't be there for us anyways. (Try losing that fight (to defend SS) for 10 years and now the bastards you lost to start every conversation "Told you so!") Schizo on religion...there was a conservative faith revival of sorts during our formative years...it either made you a devout Jesus-first voter (even quite a few of the Democrats I know) or turned you off faith entirely. We as a generation see huge amounts of our paychecks go to healthcare...that we're not using. We see ourselves or our younger cousins and siblings forced to move home to their parents. We're not happy. We don't want to be engaged frankly...we just want what we feel we were owed and for everything to turn around immediately for the better. "Beer and Travel Money" as one of my compeers put it.

Some of it is personal. For a lot of my peers, this President was the first candidate they ever really had to like and support (Can I say this honestly...both circa-2000 Gore and Kerry were basically unlikable as candidates. We might have supported them...but we didn't like them) after the moron Bush...they expected "hope and "change". Where is our change we were promised? Where is the hope for the future? I can honestly say I have no hope left and $1.17 in change. We hold that against the public face of the government. We hear the obstruction claims and wonder why he's not punching them in the face and running ramshod like the last guy would have. We hold that against him too.

We're too old to be idealistic and not well-off enough to be willing to be patient.

[flpoljunkie]

5. Thank you for your thoughts on your age group.

Perhaps you are more idealistic than you think and that you low disapproval of President Obama reflects deep disappointment with not enough 'hope and change.' It is discouraging to have such a broken political system in Washington, but I place most of the blame on Republicans who put politics above the country's best interests and live to serve the Koch brothers and their ilk.

I am encouraged that President Obama is going out into the country and fighting for the American Jobs Act.

I am also hopeful his administration will be soon be able to do more for those facing foreclosure and whose mortgages are underwater--through the FHFA, although they seem reluctant. This would help people a lot--give them some money in their pockets and more hope for the future. The housing crisis problem not being solved has been my deepest disappointment.

[I hate liars]

4. More evidence that corporations and the super rich are the obstacle...

...if the vast majority of those making over $100K agree with tax increases that will disproportionately affect them, it's pretty clear where the resistance is coming from - corporations and the super rich. The same "persons" who have the least to lose if the country goes down the tubes, because they have no allegiance to the USA.