Survey: Healthcare reform less valuable than pizza
As President Obama heads Wednesday to suburban Virginia to sell his healthcare plan to the public, he got some sobering news from a new poll showing the majority of Americans aren’t willing to chip in even the cost of a weekly cheese pizza to fund reform.
A new Quinnipiac University national poll finds that a slim plurality of voters would pay more to reform the healthcare system – 49 percent who would versus 45 percent who wouldn't. But of those willing to pay more to reform healthcare, 72 percent did not want to pay more than $500 a year.
A low budget for reform
“Seven out of 10 voters aren’t willing to chip in what amounts to the price of a cheese pizza per week – without extra toppings – to finance an overhaul,” Peter Brown, assistant director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute, said in a statement. “Opposition to paying any additional taxes ranges from 40 percent among lower-paid voters to 52 percent among those making more than $100,000 year.”
That weak level of support is a major challenge for the Obama administration and one reason the president is traveling to Northern Virginia Community College in Annandale for a town-hall meeting. The White House will take questions for the session from Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. The forum will be moderated by senior White House adviser and long-time Obama friend Valerie Jarrett.
