Survey: Higher Taxes, More Spending Cuts Needed

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By Trey Thoelcke Published
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The best way to reduce the federal deficit is through a combination of higher taxes and spending cuts, according to economists recently surveyed by the National Association for Business Economics.

Members of the association said the country needs more fiscal stimulus through 2013. However, by 2014 that stimulus should be throttled back.

A majority of those surveyed favor extending payroll tax cuts, the current marginal income tax rates and the current tax rates for dividends and capital gains for all or most taxpayers through next year.

Respondents were split though on whether deep tax cuts that were passed under President George W. Bush, and which expire at the end of December unless Congress takes action, should be extended for everyone or just households earning less than $250,000 a year.

And some 87% of the economists believe that uncertainty about what direction Congress and the White House will take is holding back the economic recovery.

Narrow majorities of respondents said that current U.S. monetary policy was “about right” (59%) and that quantitative easing already undertaken by the Fed has been a success (53%).

Only 46% of those polled expect that the European Union will have fewer than its current 17 member countries within the next five years. That is down from more than 60% just six months ago.

Photo of Trey Thoelcke
About the Author Trey Thoelcke →

Trey has been an editor and author at 24/7 Wall St. for more than a decade, where he has published thousands of articles analyzing corporate earnings, dividend stocks, short interest, insider buying, private equity, and market trends. His comprehensive coverage spans the full spectrum of financial markets, from blue-chip stalwarts to emerging growth companies.

Beyond 24/7 Wall St., Trey has created and edited financial content for Benzinga and AOL's BloggingStocks, contributing additional hundreds of articles to the investment community. He previously oversaw the 24/7 Climate Insights site, managing editorial operations and content strategy, and currently oversees and creates content for My Investing News.

Trey's editorial expertise extends across multiple publishing environments. He served as production editor at Dearborn Financial Publishing and development editor at Kaplan, where he helped shape financial education materials. Earlier in his career, he worked as a writer-producer at SVE. His freelance editing portfolio includes work for prestigious clients such as Sage Publications, Rand McNally, the Institute for Supply Management, the American Library Association, Eggplant Literary Productions, and Spiegel.

Outside of financial journalism, Trey writes fiction and has been an active member of the writing community for years, overseeing a long-running critique group and moderating workshop sessions at regional conventions. He lives with his family in an old house in the Midwest.

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