Majority of Americans don't want to pay to fight global warming

As the controversial cap and trade bill passes in the House, a new poll reflects America's disinterest in paying more to fight global warming - a wide gap between political classes and mainstream America.

With the climate change bill narrowly passing in the House, a new poll released by Rasmussen Reports shows that a majority of Americans - 56 percent - are unwilling to pay more to support the fight against global warming. Only 14 percent of Americans are willing to pay more than $100 a year to fund the cap and trade measure. This disinterest in broad increases in taxes and living expenses could spell trouble for President Obama and the Democratic Congress, as pushing forward on cap and trade legislation increasingly appears to be at odds with the American voting population. "Fifty-two percent (52%) of all adults say it is more important to keep the cost of energy as low as possible than it is to develop clean, environmentally friendly sources of energy," Rasmussen Reports cited. Unsurprisingly, 56 percent of Democrats support climate change action and "believe it is more important to develop clean, environmentally friendly sources of energy than to keep the cost of energy down." Meanwhile, high numbers of Republicans (67%) and Independents (57%) disagree. But the real danger the current administration and Democrats in general face is in being out of touch with the average American voter. "Sixty-seven percent (67%) of Mainstream Americans say they are not willing to pay higher taxes and utility costs to generate cleaner energy and fight global warming, compared to only 17% of the Political Class," reported Rasmussen Reports. The vast majority of Americans want to see jobs. Cooling the planet through questionable means and more questionable legislation is simply not a priority. "For 57% of the Political Class taking steps to stop global warming is more important than job creation, while 71% of Mainstream America believe job creation is more important," according to Rasmussen Reports. Even supporters of the cap and trade bill say the measure will have a significant impact on the economy. This is an important acknowledgement, as many surveys are demonstrating that voters are moving away from the idea that humans are to blame for global warming.