With the “fiscal cliff” looming, Beltway circles are talking about a grand bargain that would concede significant cuts to Medicare and Social Security. On ABC’s This Week, Nation editor and publisher Katrina vanden Heuvel says these cuts would harm investment and growth while the country struggles with massive unemployment. And voters agree. The majority of exit poll responders said jobs were their main concern, not the deficit.

—Steven Hsieh

For more on how voters feel about austerity, read George Zornick's analysis.