Public Opinion Snapshot: Public Supports Raising Taxes on the Rich, Opposes Repealing Obamacare

By Ruy Teixeira | October 30, 2012

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Few things are more sacred to the conservative cause than not raising taxes, ever, especially on the wealthy. They keep hoping the public will get on board with their sacred cause, but the evidence that the public does not buy the premise just keeps accumulating. In fact, the public would be delighted to see taxes raised on the affluent. The latest evidence of this comes from the Public Religion Research Institute’s just-released 2012 American Values Survey.

In that survey, the public was asked whether they supported increasing taxes on those making more than $250,000 a year. By an overwhelming 61 percent to 36 percent margin, respondents said they did.

And in the same survey, there is even more of a shocker for conservative sensibilities: The public does not embrace conservatives’ other sacred cause of repealing the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. According to the survey, the public opposes repeal by a 49 percent to 41 percent margin.

Perhaps conservatives should look for some other sacred causes to embrace. If they’re interested in public support, that is.

Ruy Teixeira is a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress.