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Tuesday, August 9th, 2011

Poll: 62 Percent Say Debt Ceiling Deal Benefits the Rich and Hurts the Poor

Author:     ERIC W. DOLAN
Source:     The Raw Story
Publication Date:     Monday, August 8th, 2011 -- 9:44 pm
 Link: Poll: 62 Percent Say Debt Ceiling Deal Benefits the Rich and Hurts the Poor
Stephan:   In my view this poll is the latest manifestation of the wealth distribution inequity that is one aspect of the transfer of the wealth of the middle class to the uber-rich. I take this as a very serious symptom of a growing disaffection people feel for the government and the social structure. It is from feelings such as these that violent social upheavals arise. Note also that most people understand what our current situation is really about -- jobs. Not debt. The sleight-of-hand exercised by the Right in which what should have been a period of job creation got turned into a sterile argument over debt was a master stroke politically, but a disaster for the country.

Sixty-two percent of Americans think the bill that raises the federal’s debt ceiling through the year 2013 and makes major cuts in government spending benefits the rich at the expense of the poor and middle class, according to a CNN/ORC poll released on Monday.

President Barack Obama signed a debt ceiling deal into law, called the the Budget Control Act of 2011, last week that to raise the debt ceiling until 2013 and cut the federal deficit by about $2.1 trillion over a 10-year period. The two-stage agreement, which was criticized by both tea party lawmakers and progressive Democrats, passed by a vote of 269 to 161 in the House and a vote of 74 to 26 in the Senate.

Only 27 percent say that the debt ceiling deal treats all classes fairly and 11 percent have no opinion.

The poll (PDF) also found that 47 percent of Americans rate the economy ‘pretty badly’ and 28 percent rate it ‘very badly.’ Only 23 percent think the economy is going ‘fairly well’ and a meager 1 percent say it is going ‘very well.’

Another CNN/ORC poll (PDF) released Monday found that 60 percent of Americans think the economy is the most important issue currently facing […]

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