No Winners for Fiscal Cliff Deal?

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Americans are very split on whether or not they approve of the final fiscal cliff deal, although they are slightly more disapproving. Plus, they will have to endure more last-minute negotiations in just a few months.

No matter what Congress agreed on to avert going over the fiscal cliff, it was unlikely that any deal was going to please all Americans. According to a Gallup poll, Americans are very split on whether or not they approve of the agreement.

When Congress passed the fiscal cliff deal, it didn’t actually deal with all that the so-called cliff entailed. While the members did address the tax increases set to automatically take place, the issue of federal spending cuts was delayed by two months.

When Gallup polled voters in November, the results showed that Americans wanted to reduce the federal budget deficit with an approach that equally employed spending cuts and tax increases.

In order to pass the agreement and prevent the country from falling over the fiscal cliff, House Republicans dropped the battle over spending cuts, agreeing to a two-month delay. The final deal did include a tax increase on those making more than $400,000, while the Bush tax cuts were extended for anyone making less.

The Gallup poll revealed that 45% of Americans disapprove of the final agreement and 43% approve with 12%, apparently, having “no opinion.”

Americans were very split along party lines. About two-thirds (67%) of Democrats approved of the deal while an almost equal amount of Republicans (65%) disapprove. Independents were slightly more disapproving (46%) than approving (39%).

Although Americans felt more negative than positive about the way federal government leaders handled the negotiations, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden had much better approval ratings than the three congressional leaders involved in negotiations. In general, Democrats received better approval ratings.

“Given that the agreement simply postponed discussion on possible big government spending cuts until the end of February, it is likely that Americans will be watching their leaders engage in more last-minute negotiations within just a couple of months,” Gallup wrote.