Majority of Americans Skeptical a Deal Will Be Reached on ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ Poll Finds
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Hemera/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Americans don’t trust Republicans and Democrats to get along, it seems.
A new poll from the Pew Research Center finds that 51 percent of Americans don’t believe a deal will reached between President Obama and Republicans in Congress regarding the so-called “fiscal cliff,” the tax increases and spending cuts that will go into effect if there is no bargain. The poll found that 38 percent believe a deal will be reached, while 11 percent responded that they don’t know.
Republicans are more skeptical than Democrats, according to the poll. Among the 51 percent who doubt an agreement will be reached by the Jan. 1 deadline, 66 percent were Republicans, while only 40 percent were Democrats. And among those who believe that there will be a deal, just 25 percent were Republicans and 47 were Democrats.
Broadly speaking, the poll showed a general concern over the effects of the cliff. Sixty-eight percent of Americans said that they believe that going over the cliff will have a major effect on the U.S. economy, and 44 percent said that they believe it will have a major effect on their own personal finances.
The fiscal cliff is a combination of expiring tax breaks plus budget cuts that are set to take effect on Jan. 2, 2013.
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