Contrary to much recent reportage, the American people are pretty clear about how they would like health care reform to be financed, according to a new Associated Press poll by GfK-Roper Public Affairs and Media, conducted 10/29-11/8. As Erica Werrner explains in her AP report:

When it comes to paying for a health care overhaul, Americans see just one way to go: Tax the rich.
That finding from a new Associated Press poll will be welcome news for House Democrats, who proposed doing just that in their sweeping remake of the U.S. medical system, which passed earlier this month and would extend coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.
The poll found participants sour on other ways of paying for the health overhaul that is being considered in Congress, including taxing insurers on high-value coverage packages derided by President Barack Obama and Democrats as “Cadillac plans.”

Only 29 percent of adults polled supported the tax on Cadillac plans, with 56 percent opposed. Other measures, including new taxes on insurance, drug and medical device manufacturers also failed to win majority support in the AP poll, reports Werner, with 48 percent opposed to new taxes on insurance companies, and 42 percent in support. A slight majority, 51 percent, opposed higher taxes on drug and medical device makers, while 41 percent supported it.
But the poll found 57 percent of respondents favor financing health care refom by raising taxes on those earning $250,000 per year, with 36 percent opposed. The House bill would impose a 5.4 percent surcharge on those earning more than $500,000 per year, as well as households earning more than $1 million per year.