Polls: Support for Tax Cuts Soft

By WILL LESTER, Associated Press Writer

GETTYSBURG, PA (AP) - The idea of a tax cut appeals to half of America as Congress considers how to spend the budget surplus, but that support may be soft.

In a poll conducted for The Associated Press by ICR of Media, PA, 49 percent of American adults said a tax cut is the best use for the surplus left after Congress sets aside a large share for Social Security. An additional 35 percent chose making payments on the national debt, while 13 percent chose spending more on government programs.

But by a small margin, people say they trust President Clinton rather than Republicans in Congress, to make decisions about the surplus. Clinton favors boosting spending for selected programs rather than across-the-board tax cuts.

And nearly half of those surveyed said education should be the top priority if money is earmarked for programs instead of tax cuts.

Another poll, by the Pew Research Center, indicated similar support for tax cuts over generic program increases. But when respondents were asked to choose tax cuts or extra money for such things as education and health care, support for tax cuts dropped.

The findings suggest that the party that does the best job framing the surplus debate may end up with public opinion on its side. Both sides have agreed to spend more than half of the expected surplus to bolster Social Security. Many Republicans favor using much of the rest for tax cuts, while President Clinton wants to spend it on Medicare and other programs.

Caught in the middle of this tug of war are people like John Niederer, who considered the surplus while downing his lunch recently at Ernie's Texas Lunch in Gettysburg.

"I want to see them pay off the national debt," the 50-year-old insurance agent said. "I would rather my two hundred, three hundred or four hundred dollars go to that. I don't want to see too much spent on new programs, maybe something for education and public safety."

If some of the surplus is spent on new programs, nearly half in the AP Poll said education should be the top priority, while a third of respondents chose health care.

"Health and education are my personal choices," said dentist Eli Shuman of Englewood, NJ, who was in Gettysburg to tour the famous Civil War battlefield. "Spending more money on defense is ridiculous. We've got too many colonels, too many officers. We don't know where to put them anymore."

More than half thought the economy would stay strong in the coming years, bringing even larger surpluses for the two parties to spar over. That continues a trend from recent polls, which showed Americans are more optimistic now than at any point since the mid-1960s.

"It's pretty hard to take money, put it in the stock market and not make more money," said 43-year-old antiques dealer Eric Shields, as he nursed a beer at a Gettysburg bar. "Some investments go up 20 percent to 30 percent in a year."

Taking the other side of that issue was barber Greg Deaner, who took a few moments from a haircut to worry that the Asian financial crisis and other problems could make the surplus short lived.

By a very narrow margin, respondents said they trust President Clinton over Republicans in Congress when it comes to making decisions about the budget surplus.

But in Gettysburg, one shopper expressed hope that the two parties that divided so bitterly over impeachment could now come together to try to solve the country's problems.

"We have this dream that they're working together, even though everybody says they will not," said retiree Gloria Amstine of York, PA. "I believe they'll have to work together."

The AP Poll of 1,008 adults, taken Feb. 19-24, has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.