U.S. wants Congress to compromise

CHICAGO, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- A clear majority of U.S. adults wants Congress to work with others to get things done and compromise if necessary, a survey indicates.

The independent research organization NORC at the University of Chicago said Republicans and Democrats have somewhat different budget priorities, yet 79 percent of U.S. adults said they wanted their representatives in Washington to work with others to get things done.

"We designed this survey to find out what Americans think about the policy issues that the president and new Congress will face, including the fiscal cliff," Kirk Wolter, executive vice president of survey research with NORC at the University of Chicago, said in a statement.

The survey found:

-- 35.1 percent said it was OK to increase taxes to cut the federal budget deficit.

-- 28.5 percent said it was OK to cut spending on domestic programs to cut the budget deficit.

-- 51.5 percent said it was OK to cut spending on national defense to cut the budget deficit.

Thirty-five percent of respondents supported a general increase in taxes to cut the federal budget deficit, 60 percent favor increasing the income tax rates for households with more than $250,000 in annual income and 6 percent proposed to reduce the top tax rates.

More than 58 percent preferred federal government spending and holding down taxes to encourage job creation, even if it adds to the federal budget deficit, while 41 percent said it was more important to have the federal government cut the federal budget deficit, even if it meant increasing taxes and discouraging job creation.

No further survey details were provided.