Polls give little guidance on U.S. budget

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WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 (UPI) -- Politicians returning to Washington to try to hammer out an agreement on government spending and taxes are getting little guidance from polls, experts say.

"Everybody has this view that we want you to rescue us from the fiscal cliff. But when you propose specific items, they say, 'We didn't think you meant that,' " Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio, told The Washington Post.

LaTourette, who is leaving Congress after nine terms, hopes for a deficit-reduction deal to cap is career. He is willing to consider tax increases as part of the plan.

The only clear message, from polls and from President Obama's victory on Nov. 6, is that a majority of U.S. voters do favor tax increases for those with large incomes, the Post said. But a poll shortly before the election for the Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation found 48 percent of respondents saying deficit reduction is more important than government spending to jump start the economy and 48 percent saying the reverse.

Congress and President Obama have until Jan. 1 to avert the "fiscal cliff." If they do not meet their self-imposed deadline on deficit reduction, a self-imposed package of tax increases and budget cuts will kick in.