Readers oppose tax breaks for wealthy

Sixty-four percent of 370 respondents to InMaricopa.com’s poll on tax breaks voted to just say ‘No’ to tax breaks for the rich.

About a third, or 33 percent, said the wealthy should get a break on taxes and 3 percent said they were unsure.

The question of tax breaks for the wealthy has become the lightning rod issue in the Congressional search for compromise to avoid going over the fiscal cliff, which mandates automatic cuts in the 2013 budget.

The cuts would be split equally between the domestic programs and defense spending, and some economists warn they could plunge the country into another recession.

The defense cuts could have an especially detrimental impact on the greater Phoenix area as the aerospace and engineering firms provide thousands of jobs to Valley residents. 

At the heart of the issue is the need to pay for $1.2 trillion in long-term budget cuts needed to balance the budget and partisan disagreement as to where in the federal budget those cuts should come from.

Democrats, led by President Obama, advocate a higher tax rate for the wealthy and Republicans, led by House Speaker John Boehner, are pressing for spending cuts on entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security.