News that Democrats have threatened to allow “nearly $600 billion worth of tax hikes and spending cuts”–otherwise known as “Taxmageddon” in January may prove to be Barack Obama’s undoing in the Fall.
Recent news suggests this is not a popular position. A new McClatchy-Marist poll indicates that “Most Americans Favor Tax Cuts for All Income Levels.” The poll shows that “52 percent of registered voters want all of the Bush tax cuts extended, including those for incomes above $250,000; 43 percent just want cuts extended for incomes below $250,000”.
Unfortunately for Obama, that may not be the worst of it. A look inside the McClatchy-Marist numbers indicates that “young voters ages 18-29 favored tax cuts for everyone by a margin of 69-29, the largest margin of any age group.” Those numbers show the Democrat’s tax strategy will be unpopular with younger voters.
In 2008, voters in the “18 to 24 age group broke 68 percent for Obama to 30 percent for John McCain.” Obama dominated the youth demographic, while McCain only prevailed with voters age 65 and over.
As things stand now, Obama will go into the general election carrying a party whose tax policy is strongly opposed by one of his key demographics. Experts are predicting a tight race come November, and Mitt Romney is consistently besting Obama in the money race. The last thing Obama needs is one more obstacle to his re-election.