The day after the so-called Congressional "supercommittee" announced that it will not deliver a debt reduction plan in time to meet its Nov. 23 deadline, a new survey reveals that more than half (61 percent) of seniors say they'll take a tax hike if it means fewer cuts to Medicare.
In addition, while 54 percent of respondents said that the supercommittee's failure to reach agreement benefits them personally because it spares Medicare, 61 percent said it would be better for the country and 65 percent said it would be better for their children if the supercommittee had succeeded.
The deficit committee's failure to deliver a plan could trigger $1.2 trillion in automatic across-the-board spending cuts in defense and non-defense spending. However, Social Security and Medicare are exempt from the automatic cuts.
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The survey was fielded over 24 hours from November 19-20 2011 by Extend Health, Inc., which operates the nation's largest private Medicare exchange.
Questions and detailed results from the Supercommittee debt reduction survey are as follows:
Would you support tax increases if it meant that Medicare would be cut less?
| Yes | 61.3% | |||||
| No | 38.7% | |||||
Which outcome do you think would be better for the country?
| The Supercommittee meets its deadline | 61.1% | |||||
| The Supercommittee does not meet its deadline | 38.9% | |||||
Which outcome do you think would be better for you personally?
| The Supercommittee meets its deadline | 45.6% | |||||
| The Supercommittee does not meet its deadline | 54.4% | |||||
Which outcome do you think would be better for your children?
| The Supercommittee meets its deadline | 64.6% | |||||
| The Supercommittee does not meet its deadline | 35.4% | |||||
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