Poll: Americans Split Over Deficit Plans

Americans are nearly evenly divided over separate plans to reduce the deficit introduced by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) and President Obama, according to a Gallup poll.

The poll indicates that 43 percent favor the Ryan plan, while 44 percent go for Obama’s. 14 percent have no opinion.

While both plans are similar in terms of their fiscal target, they both contain proposals that the other parties have dubbed non-starters. Plans by Ryan to transform the Medicare system by providing seniors with vouchers for their care has raised ire among Democrats and President Obama’s proposal to raise taxes on the wealthiest Americans has met with a similar response from Republicans.

However, while Democrats have largely bashed Ryan’s plan based on its impact on seniors, the poll’s data shows that 48 percent of those over 65 percent prefer the Wisconsin Republican’s proposal, as opposed to 42 percent of the age group who prefer Obama’s.

The results also determined that the majority of Americans believe Republicans are better suited to deal with the federal budget than Democrats. 48 percent responded that they trust the GOP more, as opposed to 36 percent who cited Congressional Democrats.

The poll, which was released Wednesday, was conducted among 1,013 adults between April 20^th and the 23^rd.