Americans are almost evenly split on the likelihood of President Obama and Congressional leaders to strike a deal before Jan. 1 to avoid the so-called fiscal cliff, according to data gathered in Gallup’s daily tracking poll released on Wednesday.
Fifty percent of Americans believe it is “very” or “somewhat” likely that leaders will reach a solution that avoids the punitive measures associated with the year-end deadline, which include a raft of tax hikes and spending cuts, while 48 percent believe it is “not too likely” or “not at all likely.”
But according to Gallup, Americans’ optimism on fiscal cliff negotiations has declined throughout the month of December. For example, 58 percent of Americans at the beginning of the month said that a deal was likely, compared with 39 percent who said it was unlikely.
