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Polls: Paying for Katrina
Media Matters
Media cite Gallup poll question that masked actual Dem proposals for funding
Katrina relief
September 22, 2005
A September 16-18 CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll (subscription required) asked
respondents whether they would support "raising taxes" to fund the recovery for
Hurricane Katrina. But the poll did not ask a question that more accurately
reflects current proposals: whether respondents would support paying for
Katrina recovery by allowing Bush tax cuts to expire. Democratic leaders have
advocated the latter, and polls that include it as an option produce very
different results from Gallup's. CNN and The Washington Post both referenced
the "raising taxes" question in reports on paying for Katrina relief.
Gallup used the Republican label -- "raising taxes" -- as an apparent proxy
for the predominantly Democratic proposal of not extending the tax cuts upon
their statutorily mandated expiration date. Similarly, as Media Matters for
America noted, USA Today, one of the sponsors of the poll, equated a proposal
not to extend President Bush's tax cuts past their sunset date with a proposal
to "rais[e] taxes," echoing the characterization of House Majority Leader Tom
DeLay (R-TX).
Accusing Democrats of raising taxes is a standard Republican line of attack.
During the 2004 presidential campaign, for example, the Bush-Cheney campaign
pummeled Democratic candidate Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) by accusing him of voting
to increase taxes 350 times, even though many of those votes were, in fact, to
not reduce taxes or to reduce taxes but not to a level Republicans
advocated.
Similarly, Democratic proposals (here and here) to pay for hurricane relief
efforts have involved letting Bush tax cuts approved in 2001 and 2003 expire as
scheduled. Democrats have suggested allowing Bush tax cuts -- which include
reduced rates on capital gains and dividends -- to expire in 2008; extending
those cuts to 2010, as Republicans have proposed, would reduce government
revenue by $70 billion.
Gallup's question, referenced on the September 20 edition of CNN's Daybreak
and the September 19 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight as well as in the September
21 issue of The Washington Post, asked participants to identify "the best way
for the government to pay for problems cause by Hurricane Katrina." The
possible options were: "increase federal budget deficit," "raise taxes," "cut
spending for war in Iraq," "cut spending for domestic programs," "other," and
"no opinion." Only 17 percent of respondents favored "raise taxes," with a +/-4
percent margin of error.
But when the option is included in polling to allow tax cuts to expire, the
response is significantly greater. A September 16-18 Associated Press/Ipsos
poll and a September 9-12 NBC/Wall Street Journal poll both specifically
included repealing tax cuts in a similar list of choices for respondents. In
the AP/Ipsos poll, 29 percent chose that option, and 27 percent chose it in the
NBC/Wall Street Journal poll. By contrast, only 7 percent in the NBC/Wall
Street Journal poll chose "raise income taxes" as their preferred option. Each
had a margin of error of +/- 3.1 percent. Moreover, a September 11
ABC/Washington Post poll, which contained a question phrased similarly to
Gallup's, also included a separate polling question related to the "70 billion
dollars in tax cuts over the next five years" proposed by "some federal
lawmakers," and specifically asked, "Do you think those tax cuts should go
forward as proposed, or do you think they should be put off for the time
being?" 59 percent responded that they should be delayed, with a +/- 3 percent
margin of error.
Following are the full results of the above polls on this question.
CNN/USA Today/Gallup, September 16-18
If you had to choose, which of the following would you say would be the best
way for the government to pay for the problems caused by Hurricane Katrina --
[ROTATED: increase the federal budget deficit, raise taxes, cut spending for
the war in Iraq, (or) cut spending for domestic programs such as education and
health care]?
Cut spending for war in Iraq |
54% |
Raise taxes |
17% |
Increase federal budget deficit |
15% |
Cut spending for domestic programs |
6% |
Other |
5% |
No opinion |
3% |
Associated Press/Ipsos, September 16-18
If you had to choose, which one of the following options do you think is the
best way for the government to pay for the relief effort for Hurricane
Katrina?
Cut spending on Iraq |
42% |
Delay or cancel additional tax cuts |
29% |
Add to the federal debt and gradually pay it back |
14% |
Cut spending for other domestic programs like education,
welfare, transportation, and health care |
11% |
Not sure |
4% |
NBC/Wall Street Journal, September 9-12
Some people have estimated that the cost of relief, recovery, and rebuilding
from Hurricane Katrina could reach as high as two hundred billion dollars.
Which one or two of the following actions do you think should be taken to help
pay for the hurricane relief efforts. (IF MORE THAN TWO, ASK:) Well, if you had
to choose just one or two, which would you choose?
Reduce Iraq war spending |
45% |
Repeal income tax cuts that are scheduled to take effect next
year |
27% |
Keep the estate tax in place |
15% |
Cut federal spending in other areas, such as education |
12% |
Increase the deficit |
8% |
Raise income taxes |
7% |
None of these |
8% |
Not sure |
6% |
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