Special Edition American Pulse(TM): Americans Weigh in on Healthcare Debate

COLUMBUS, OH--(Marketwire - July 29, 2009) - 56% of Americans think that the U.S. cannot afford the proposed trillion-dollar plus healthcare legislation as debates reach a fevered pitch on Capitol Hill, according to the July American Pulse™ (N=4022) Survey. 37% of Democrats, 83.2% of Republicans and 55.5% of Independents agree.

In addition to the proposed reform costing too much, almost half (49.1%) of Americans feel that Congress is rushing the legislation. 27.7% say members are not, while 23.2% aren't sure. Interestingly, over one-third (37.7%) say the U.S. government shouldn't be involved in healthcare at all (45.4% say it should and 16.9% don't know).

When it comes to whether those who make more than $350,000 should pay higher taxes to cover the cost of U.S. healthcare reform, Americans tend to think they should. Over half (53.2%) say higher taxes should be imposed on the "wealthy." On the other hand, 29.6% say they shouldn't have to pay more.

Ultimately, 41.1% feel that if the reform becomes law that U.S. healthcare will be worse than it is currently:

If the healthcare reform becomes law, do you think healthcare will become...

               Adults 18+    Republicans    Democrats    Independents
Better         34.1%         13.1%          55.5%        29.8%
Worse          41.1%         70.6%          19.7%        43.0%
Same           24.9%         16.3%          24.8%        27.2%

Source: American Pulse-July 09

For additional complimentary data (segments include age, income, gender and political party): http://americanpulse.bigresearch.com.

Verbatim posts from the BIGresearch and Artafact Blog on taxing higher income earners...

"To force persons of higher incomes to pay taxes based on an unequal tax scale is Socialist."

"To cry 'socialism' when a country is asked to share the wealth and take care of the least advantaged is the cry of selfish, self-centered individuals living in the past of kings and queens, not democracy."

About American Pulse™

The American Pulse™ Survey is collected online by BIGresearch every month exclusively utilizing Survey Sampling International's (SSI) U.S. panel covering topics such as politics, pop culture and the economy. Over 4,000 respondents participate, providing greater insights into how Americans really feel about issues they currently face. The use of the Artafact online blog as a listening post to develop the questions posed in the monthly American Pulse survey is a very effective use of both online qualitative and quantitative research. http://www.bigresearch.com

About Survey Sampling International (SSI)

Survey Sampling International is the premier global provider of sampling solutions for survey research. SSI offers access to more than 6 million consumer and business-to-business research respondents in 54 countries via Internet, telephone, and mobile. Additional client services include custom profiling, survey programming and hosting, data processing, sampling consulting, and survey optimization. SSI serves more than 1,800 marketing research clients, including nearly three-quarters of the top researchers worldwide. Founded in 1977, SSI has an international staff of 400 people representing 50 countries and 36 languages. The company is based in Shelton, CT with 14 additional offices worldwide. http://www.surveysampling.com

Contact Information: Contacts: BIGresearch Chrissy Wissinger 614.846.0146 SSI Diane Urso 203.567.7236