Reuters Money
Americans are divided over Bush tax cuts
When it comes to taxes, the United States is far from united.
The breakdown of Americans who favor keeping all of President George W. Bush’s tax cuts, repealing only those for wealthy Americans, or scrapping them entirely is essentially the same, according to the latest Pew Research/National Journal Congressional Connection poll.
The three-way divide looks like this: 31 percent say all of the tax cuts passed when Bush was president should be repealed; 30 percent say all of the tax cuts should remain in place; 27 percent say tax cuts for the wealthy should be repealed, while others should be maintained.
Who favors ending the tax cuts? Democrats, blacks and younger Americans, according to the poll. Meanwhile, Republicans, whites and older Americans would like to keep the tax cuts in place. (For more demographic data, see the chart on the left.)
President Obama has been vocal about his desire to extend Bush-era tax cuts for middle class Americans while letting cuts for the wealthy expire to help ease the U.S. budget deficit.
Which camp do you fall into?
As a side note, I had the opportunity to meet President Bush at the White House when he was trying to drum up support from the personal finance community for his 2002 tax package. And, just so you know, I may have impacted your taxes during that visit since I took a White House coaster and pad of paper home with me as a memento — with approval from the Secret Service, naturally.
Introducing John Wasik, Reuters.com columnist
The following is by John Wasik, a columnist for Reuters.com and author of “The Audacity of Help: Obama’s Economic Plan and the Remaking of America.” The opinions expressed are his own.
This is not a column about money. It’s about your life.
I see money as a tool to get you where you want to be. My aspiration is to help you save, plan for your retirement and college expenses, deal effectively with taxes, manage your real estate, invest prudently and take care of your complicated family finances. I’m not interested in quick stock or mutual fund picks that might lead you astray; I’m concerned about your relationship to your investments, income, family and the rest of your life.
What should you be doing given that you may be working longer and living into your ninth and tenth decades? After more than a quarter century of writing about (seven books, countless articles) and advising folks on personal finance, I don’t have all the answers. Yet I’ll certainly try to provide some fresh and useful insights on how you can best succeed.
Interesting poll… today we need the tax cuts to remain in place. Again, the problem overall is spending in the Government. However, lots of that spending assist all Americans. In our Democratic Society, the tax code helps all Americans. The poor are not being taken advantage by the tax code, but by the fact they are not building their job choice around the tax code. Using the tax code in ones employment can be the quickest way to enchance ones financial situation. The folks who have an understanding of the tax code, are more likely the ones who make donations, which help the less fortunate, yet still allows the individual making the donation to possibly deduct it from their taxes. In todays high unemployment era all of us need to see donations coming in all of our communities, so the folks who need a little extra help have some one to lean on.