According to the latest Rasmussen poll the vast majority of Americans (57%) feel that Obamacare will hurt the economy. Only 25% say it will hurt the economy, seven percent (7%) say it will have no impact.
Two thirds of voters do not believe the President when he says that the bill will save money. That 66% believe the health care bill will add to the already swollen federal deficit.
That’s up six points from late November and comparable to findings just after the contentious August congressional recess. Ten percent (10%) say the plan is more likely to reduce the deficit and 14% say it will have no impact on the deficit.
Underlying this concern is a lack of trust in the government numbers. Eighty-one percent (81%) believe it is at least somewhat likely that the health care reform plan will cost more than official estimates. That number includes 66% who say it is very likely that the official projections understate the true cost of the plan.
Just 10% have confidence in the official estimates and say the actual costs are unlikely to be higher.
Voters also understand the tax consequences, 78% believe it is at least somewhat likely that taxes will have to be raised on the middle class to cover the cost of health care reform, 65% say middle-class tax hikes are very likely (a six-point increase from late November).
While the president and his congressional allies search for a way to pass their proposed health care plan, most voters remain opposed to it. Forty-two percent (42%) now favor the plan, while 53% are against it, findings that have remained relatively constant since just after Thanksgiving. The new figures include just 20% who Strongly Favor the plan and 41% who are Strongly Opposed.
Fifty-nine percent (59%) of voters say cost is the biggest problem with health care. But 54% believe passage of the proposed health care legislation will lead to higher health care costs.
Seventy-six percent (76%) of those with insurance now rate their own coverage as good or excellent. The fact that most Americans are comfortable with their own insurance coverage has proven to be a major obstacle for advocates of reform. Overall, 44% of voters rate the U.S. health care system as good or excellent. Democrats continue to be the strongest supporters of the health care plan, while Republicans and voters not affiliated with either party are the biggest critics.While 89% of GOP voters and 61% of independents think Obamacare will hurt the economy, just 24% of Democrats agree.
Ninety-three percent (93%) of Republicans and 71% of Independants say the health plan being considered by Congress is likely to increase the federal budget deficit. Democrats are more evenly divided: 37% say it’s likely to increase the deficit, but 21% of those in the President’s party say it’s more likely to reduce the deficit.
But even a majority (58%) of Democrats agree that the plan is likely to require a hike in middle-class taxes.
Polling released last week shows that most voters want Congress to scrap the existing plan and start over on health care reform.The Progressives keep forgetting the famous Jim Carville axiom, its the economy stupid!
Views of the country's short- and long-term economic future are gloomier these days than they have been at any time since Obama took office in January of last year.
Of the four budget priorities laid out by Obama at the start of his presidency, cutting the federal deficit in half by the end of his first term is still the one voters put in first place.
Only 21% of voters nationwide believe the federal government now enjoys the consent of the governed. Seventy-five percent (75%) are at least somewhat angry at the government’s current policies. That includes 45% who are Very Angry, a nine-point increase since September.
And the anger is showing in the polls after a short bump in popularity right after the "bi-partisan" heath care meeting, the president's approval index has returned to pre-meeting levels.
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