Cavuto Wrongly Suggests Americans Prefer Spending Cuts To Tax Increases

Last week (11/28/12), Neil Cavuto spoke from Los Angeles about California voters approving propositions raising the top tax rate as well as raising the sales tax. Cavuto used his Common Sense commentary to pivot from there and forecast that the national “fiscal cliff” talks will result in a deal that is “heavily weighted” in tax hikes. He went on to give the misimpression that Americans would prefer to cut spending.

Cavuto said forlornly, “No one’s talking about cutting taxes anymore, just raising them, and when all is said and done, likely on not just the rich… Taxes are in. Reducing spending is not in.”

He added, “And this idea that we’re gonna have a balanced approach to avoiding this year-end fiscal mess? Not even close.”

But, he hypothesized, the cause of this outcome was voter frustration with an inability to cut spending. Predicting that any deal will be “very heavily weighted toward tax hikes," he continued:

That’s not because voters necessarily want more taxes. Maybe more because they’ve said, ‘Aw, the hell with banging our heads against… the wall, hoping we’d see spending cuts.' So I guess reality bites. But what a lot of folks don’t know when they cave like that? Is the tax bill is gonna bite, too. Big time.”

Although Cavuto and his Fox News cronies don’t like to acknowledge it, polls show that Americans unequivocally support tax increases over spending cuts. Furthermore, President Obama is proposing 1 trillion dollars in discretionary spending cuts, from 8.7% of GDP last year to 5% in 2022. He wants $2.50 in spending cuts for every dollar in new revenue.

Cavuto is just wrong when he suggests otherwise.

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Showing 7 reactions

commented 2012-12-04 23:34:45 -0500 · Flag

Joshua, the link I provided is to an aggregator of polls on the subject, including many recent polls. It was I, as editor, who wrote the sentence that Americans unequivocally support tax increases. Although it may not be completely clear in the post, my point was that Cavuto was suggesting Americans might prefer spending cuts over tax increases and the polls consistently show that not to be true, whether they want taxes raised or tax hikes and spending cuts. That is what the polls consistently show and have shown for quite some time.

commented 2012-12-04 07:07:05 -0500 · Flag

Mind you Brian, I don’t necessarily agree with cavuto either, but I also don’t think Americans “unequivocally” support tax increases.

commented 2012-12-04 06:52:47 -0500 · Flag

Brian, the poll you cited (from over a year ago) showed that Americans are ok with tax increases if there are SPENDING CUTS. Furthermore The question referred to closing the budget deficit not about the advisability of raising taxes in a soft economy. Extrapolating from the first question to an answer to raising taxes in a soft economy seems suspect. Moreso, it seems likely those favoring tax increases are really favoring tax increases on someone else and not on themselves. Bartlettâs post is useless.Your second source was biased and partisan.

commented 2012-12-04 02:24:29 -0500 · Flag

@Ellen & Robert Urban: I think what Josh was hoping for was a link from someplace like FoxNation.com or Heritage.org — y’know, something that would show Americans preferring the spending cuts . . .

Kneel, Kneel, Kneel . . . you’re suffering from the same problem as the denizens of FoKKKsNation when they pretended President Obama’s approval rating was going down when it was going up:

http://www.newshounds.us/fox_pretends_obama_s_approval_rating_is_falling_when_it_s_actually_rising_12012012

You were looking at the poll results upside-down . . .

.

commented 2012-12-04 00:51:25 -0500 · Flag

Joshua,

There’s a link in the post to polls, in the sentence, “… polls show that Americans unequivocally support tax increases over spending cuts.”

Here’s the link:

http://pollingreport.com/budget.htm

commented 2012-12-03 19:58:51 -0500 · Flag

The current Repugs in Congress are scared shitless to vote for any tax increase on the rich. They fear that they will be targeted in the next Repug primary by an angry mob of teabaggers and millionaires like the Kochsucker brothers.

commented 2012-12-03 18:23:48 -0500 · Flag

Brian, could you please add links to these polls you are referring to? Or at least some sources for the polls you are referring to? I have not seen such polls that have asked if people would rather cut spending or increase taxes? If you are are making such claims, especially in a venue such as this, and more so since you are telling us someone is outright wrong, you need to back them up.