“Three in four voters want to ‘cut government spending across the board,’” according to a new POLITICO/George Washington University Battleground Poll (see the full results here).

This is the latest in a series of surveys to show far more Americans favor cutting government spending over raising tax rates to address our debt and the fiscal cliff. For example:

• According to the POLITICO / GWU survey, 75 percent favor (59 percent strongly) “cutting government spending across the board” – 15 percent more than favor higher tax rates.  
• The Winston Group found 65 percent of the American people favor a plan that cuts spending while “eliminating special interest tax loopholes and deductions commonly used by the wealthy,” versus only 25 percent who prefer raising tax rates.  
• And a Gallup survey found 72 percent rank “making needed spending cuts” ahead of the president’s call for higher tax rates, which was seen as a priority by less than half (47 percent) of respondents.

Just yesterday, former Clinton Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles told CBS Face the Nation, “Even if you raise the top rates back to the Clinton rates, that only creates about $400 billion over 10 years. That's $40 billion a year. We have a trillion dollar a year deficit.” Bottom line, says Bowles: “We have to cut spending.”

The president’s plan for higher tax rates and more ‘stimulus’ spending threatens nearly one million small businesses and hundreds of thousands of jobs – and can’t pass Congress.

The bipartisan plan outlined by Republicans one week ago calls for significant spending cuts and tax reforms the president has supported in the past. It’s a balanced approach that would protect middle class families and small business owners struggling in this economy. Learn more about it here.