“Only 8% of Americans think raising taxes is the sole solution, and 55% of Americans say they will change their spending habits if tax increases are a result of a deal,” Del Guercio said.

The poll also showed that people's opinions about Grover Norquist, the president of Americans For Tax Reform, are generally negative, with 35% having an unfavorable opinion and only 20% having a favorable impression.

Felix Chen, an international student from China and the chief analyst for ECPS, concludes that Norquist hurt his image by telling the GOP to keep their hands off any deal that involves a tax increase, since the majority of people want a combination of spending cuts and tax increases to help avoid the fiscal cliff.

Norquist's famous “no-tax pledge” has drawn the ire of Democrats who identify the activists as the source of Republicans unwillingness to meet Democrats halfway in previous fiscal negotiations. The American people concur. Only 25% advocate sticking to the no tax pledge, while 62% favor raising taxes on the wealthy.

Only 42% of Republicans believe the GOP should stick to the anti-tax pledge; 35% would allow tax increases on the wealthy, and 23% are unsure on the tax increase issue. In addition, 66% percent of independents and 83% of Democrats think that tax increases on the wealthy should be on the table during the fiscal negotiations.

Data was collected on Nov. 27-28 using an automated data collection system. The national sample consisted of 983 people.

Emerson College Polling Society is a student organization at Emerson College dedicated to formulating, administering and analyzing public opinion polls.

This article was originally posted at BenefitsPro.com, a sister site of Credit Union Times.