Majority in U.S. says sequestration to harm economy
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E-mail Xinhua, March 1, 2013
A majority of Americans, 56 percent, believe that the sequestration due to take effect on Friday will harm the U.S. economy, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.
Meanwhile, 44 percent of Americans said the sequestration will hurt their own finances, while a nearly equal percentage say it will not, the poll finds.
U.S. Congress faces a March 1 deadline to stop the sequestration, which will cut 1.2 trillion U.S. dollars in government spending in 10 years, including approximately 85 billion dollars for the 2013 fiscal year.
To prevent the sequestration, about half of which are to come from defense and national security, Republicans and Democrats in Congress have to reach a deal on an alternate schedule of the budget cuts, or on another temporary delay.
Low-income Americans are likely to be the most affected by the cuts to domestic programs. Slightly more than half of adults in households earning less than 24,000 dollars per year and 47 percent of those earning up to 60,000 per year say sequestration will make their own finances worse.
By contrast, barely a third of those making 60,000 dollars or more think such cuts will harm them financially, according to the Feb. 25-26 poll.
U.S. President Barack Obama is scheduled to meet four top congressional leaders, including Republican House Speaker John Boehner, on Friday in the last bid to avert the sequestration, which he said could affect the country's economy, education and national security.
The two parties have been trading blames over the failure to reach a deal to avoid the potentially damaging across-the-board budget cuts.
"Compromise here in Washington can usually be measured by a willingness of one leader to put forward proposals that demonstrate tough choices by his side, or her side. What we have not seen from the Republicans is anything like the willingness to compromise inherent in the proposals that the President has put forward," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Wednesday.
Republicans should support a balanced deficit reduction plan including higher taxes on the rich and closing some special interest tax loopholes to replace the looming sequester, he said.
GOP leaders oppose any sequester replacement plan that includes higher taxes on the rich. The White House has escalated attacks on GOP leaders to set up Republicans for blame if the government outlays cuts are to take effect. Endit
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