There's a disconnect between public and polls on Social Security, Medicare - Des Moines Register
December 30, 2011

With just days before the Iowa caucus, Republican presidential candidates continue to try to draw political distinctions among themselves to break away from the pack and challenge emerging front-runners. However, there is almost complete unity on one issue that puts these candidates at odds with the vast majority of Americans of all political persuasions -- support for proposals that would radically alter Social Security and Medicare to pay for Washington's fiscal failures.

Whether it's privatization proposals such as Social Security private accounts or Medicare vouchers, which would force seniors to pay a growing share of their health care costs, the Republican Party's front-runners for president seem uniformly out of touch with the average American's view on Social Security and Medicare.

Non-partisan polling conducted by a Democratic/GOP research partnership showed Americans across all ages and party affiliations do not support cutting Social Security and Medicare to reduce the deficit. Even in this polarized political climate, no other single issue garners such broad unanimity across all party lines.

Polling shows 82 percent of Democrats, 73 percent of independents and 58 percent of Republicans oppose cutting Social Security and Medicare, with 94 percent of Democrats, 82 percent of independents and 64 percent of Republicans preferring to raise taxes on the wealthy rather than cutting Social Security and Medicare for deficit reduction.

By a 3-to-1 margin, even self-identified "fiscal conservatives" of both parties oppose cutting Social Security benefits. By a 2½-to-1 margin, fiscally conservative voters oppose cutting Medicare benefits for deficit reduction.

In spite of this, GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney continue to tout Social Security private accounts and turning Medicare into a voucher program.

These proposals would transform two of America's most successful anti-poverty programs into little more than coupon care and a volatile 401(k) lite for retirees. This fundamental weakening of both programs comes at a time when American families are depending on these programs more than ever and the recession generation faces an uncertain economic future.

Middle class America understands this. They've experienced a 23 percent drop in a typical middle-class family's wealth, zero wage growth, diminished savings, and shrinking home values. These aren't just factoids in a stump speech but the real world that millions of hardworking Americans face each day.

Too often, saving for retirement has had to take a backseat to daily survival. Given that the incomes of middle class workers have stagnated for three decades while those of the wealthiest 1 percent have increased by over 275 percent, it's easy to see why cutting middle class benefits to pay for extending tax cuts for the wealthy is not a partisan issue for working Americans. Instead it's a values issue of fairness and shared sacrifice.

The majority of average Americans share a decidedly non-partisan view that Social Security and Medicare should be protected, especially during times like these. However, that message has clearly been rebuffed by leading GOP presidential candidates Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney.

While both candidates want Iowa voters to believe they offer unique visions for America's future, for millions of Iowans and their families who depend on Social Security and Medicare, Gingrich and Romney's ideas are neither new nor unique. But these proposals do represent a huge disconnect with the American electorate who have said loudly and clearly they do not support cutting middle class programs to pay for tax breaks for the wealthy.

Max Richtman
President/CEO
National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare