Tax the Rich, Take Your Hands Off Medicare: Overwhelming US Majority

A large majority of US citizens would like to see higher taxes on the rich and oppose cuts to Medicare as an answer to the US deficit, according to a poll released Wednesday by the Washington Post and ABC News.

Roughly sixty percent of those asked stated that they would like to see higher income taxes on those in higher income brackets -- $250,000 and greater.

Only 37 percent opposed a progressive tax system.

Those who answered with "strong" support for raising taxes on the rich were roughly double the number with "strong" opposition: 42 percent for vs. 23 percent against.

Seventy-three percent of Democrats and 63 percent of independents support higher taxes on the rich. 59 percent of Republicans oppose it.

Additionally two-thirds of Americans oppose a raise in Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 as is proposed by many Republican lawmakers. Only 30 percent support it.

According to the Huffington Post, these numbers remain consistent with polls taken throughout the year. On Nov. 6, the same percentage of Americans sided with higher taxes on the wealthy, as well with a similar poll earlier in the year.

The poll arrives as lawmakers debate this week over next year's budget plan -- negotiating over public spending and taxation options. As politicians, along with corporate media outlets, raise fears over the so called "fiscal cliff," or sequestration that will occur if opposing forces don't make a "grand bargain," which could include potential cuts to Medicare and Social Security, the solutions provided by these national polls make clear what the majority of the American public would like to see happen instead.