Another False Rasmussen Choice

Those wacky guys at Rasmussen Reports keep pitting a public option health care plan against all kinds of things to see which one wins the battle of public opinion. Last week, it was public option versus not losing your health care completely, an idiotic false choice if I've ever heard one, and this week it's new health care spending versus more tax cuts for the middle class, again another false choice that Rasmussen is simply using to scare people.

Most members of the Senate Finance Committee were relieved this week to find that their health care reform plan will cost under $900 billion over the next 10 years and is actually projected to bring the federal deficit down by $81 billion.

But a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that most voters continue to favor middle class tax cuts over spending more money for health care reform.

Thirty-three percent (33%) of voters say new spending for health care reform is more important. But 54% rate middle class tax cuts as the priority over more health care spending. Thirteen percent (13%) aren’t sure.

Americans would like more money over lots of things, I suspect. No doubt the Club For Growth people are thrilled about this and are going to use this as proof that we should scrap all government programs that use tax money to help people, cause, and here's a shocker, Americans don't like paying taxes.

Still, this is another false choice, and a bad economic choice in the long run. What has to pay for these tax cuts? Cuts in other government programs. Of course, that's what the GOP wants, a Democratic government cutting programs for traditional groups of Democratic voters, the less affluent, minorities, and urban residents.

I bet if you had a poll seeing which ones Americans liked more, ice cream sundaes or having to work several hours of OT just to make ends meet, most Americans would prefer hot fudge and sprinkles. The whole point of this poll is to try to scare Democrats into believing the Republicans are right and always have been, which of course explains exactly how well the Republicans did in the last two elections.