{"id":25467,"date":"2010-09-14T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2010-09-14T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/2010\/09\/14\/mixed-views-of-gop-proposals-on-entitlements\/"},"modified":"2024-04-14T03:52:10","modified_gmt":"2024-04-14T08:52:10","slug":"mixed-views-of-gop-proposals-on-entitlements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2010\/09\/14\/mixed-views-of-gop-proposals-on-entitlements\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed Views of GOP Proposals on Entitlements"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/old-assets\/publications\/1726-1.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"292\" height=\"229\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The public has sharply different reactions to major changes in Social Security and Medicare programs being proposed by some leading Republicans. While a majority favors a proposal to allow some private investments in Social Security, there is considerably less support for the idea of ending Medicare and replacing it with a system of vouchers for purchasing private insurance.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest Pew Research\/National Journal Congressional Connection poll, sponsored by SHRM, conducted Sept. 9-12 among 1,001 adults, finds that 58% favor a proposal that would allow workers younger than age 55 to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in personal retirement accounts that would rise and fall with the markets; 28% oppose this proposal.Majorities across all age groups &#8212; except for those ages 65 and older &#8212; favor this proposal.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/old-assets\/publications\/1726-2.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"292\" height=\"310\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among senior citizens, as many favor (42%) as oppose (42%) allowing private investments in Social Security. By contrast, fully 70% of those younger than age 30 favor this idea.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Support for the general concept is comparable to support for a similar plan advocated by former President George W. Bush in 2004. As he sought reelection in the fall of 2004, 58% of registered voters that September favored allowing younger workers to invest a portion of their Social Security; 26% said they opposed this change. However, after Bush won reelection and debate about the proposal began, support weakened. By March 2005, the public was largely split (44% favor, 40% oppose) and the proposal was not enacted.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/old-assets\/publications\/1726-3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"292\" height=\"309\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Meanwhile, just a third favor replacing Medicare &#8212; the government program that provides health care to seniors and people with disabilities &#8212; with a program that would give vouchers to Medicare recipients so they can purchase private health care insurance. About half (52%) oppose this idea.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Age also is a factor in opinions about changes in Medicare: Fully 69% of those 65 and older oppose replacing Medicare with a private voucher system &#8212; the highest percentage of any age group. Those ages 30-49 are most supportive: 48% favor the idea, while 37% oppose it.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even among Republicans, there is more opposition than support for replacing Medicare with a voucher system. Nearly half of Republicans (47%) oppose this proposal, as do 52% of independents and 54% of Democrats.<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;plurality-still-disapproves-of-health-care-law&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"plurality-still-disapproves-of-health-care-law\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Plurality Still Disapproves of Health Care Law<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/old-assets\/publications\/1726-4.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"187\" height=\"283\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On other issues, public attitudes about the sweeping health care legislation enacted earlier this year have changed little since early July. Currently, 38% say they approve of the legislation, while 45% say they disapprove. When those who oppose the legislation are asked whether it should be repealed as soon as possible or given time to see how it works, nearly a third (32%) of the total sample say the law should be repealed.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nearly eight-in-ten Republicans (79%) say they disapprove of the health care law &#8212; and more than six-in-ten (63%) say it should be repealed. Among Democrats, 69% say they approve of the law, while 15% disapprove; just 8% say it should be repealed.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Independents largely mirror the public as a whole: 34% approve of the law, while 48% oppose it. A third of independents say the law should be repealed.<\/p>\n\n<h3 data-is-section=\"true\" data-wp-context=\"{&quot;id&quot;:&quot;citizenship-for-children-of-illegal-immigrants&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"{&quot;namespace&quot;:&quot;prc-block\\\/table-of-contents&quot;}\" id=\"citizenship-for-children-of-illegal-immigrants\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">Citizenship for Children of Illegal Immigrants<\/h3>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Americans are divided about whether to preserve the constitutional provision that makes all children born in the United States citizens, regardless of their parent&#8217;s immigration status.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Currently, about half (49%) say the Constitution should be left as it is, while 46% say they favor changing the Constitution to prevent children from automatically being citizens at birth if their parents are not in the country legally.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A majority of Republicans (56%) favors amending the Constitution, while 39% oppose this. Among Democrats, 53% oppose making this change, while 41% support it. Independents are very much like the country as whole (45% say yes, 50% say no).<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"what-to-do-about-the-bush-tax-cuts\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">What to do About the Bush Tax Cuts<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/old-assets\/publications\/1726-5.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"407\" height=\"213\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With debate in Washington heating up over whether to continue the tax cuts enacted during George W. Bush&#8217;s administration, public opinion remains divided. About three-in-ten (29%) say all of the tax cuts should remain in place &#8212; the position of GOP leaders in Congress, while the same percentage (29%) say tax cuts for the wealthy should be repealed while those for the less affluent remain in place, the position taken by the Obama administration; another 28% say they think all of the Bush-era tax cuts should be repealed.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/old-assets\/publications\/1726-6.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"292\" height=\"288\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest Pew Research\/National Journal Congressional Connection poll, sponsored by SHRM, conducted Sept. 9-12 among 1,001 adults, finds little change in public opinion about the tax cuts since July. A plurality of Republicans (47%) support keeping all of the Bush tax cuts; just 16% of Democrats do so. Democrats are somewhat divided between supporting repeal of the tax cuts for the wealthy &#8212; while maintaining those for everyone else (40%) &#8212; and supporting repeal of all the tax cuts (32%). Independent opinion is divided among the three options (30% keep all tax cuts, 28% repeal only those for the wealthy, 31% repeal all the tax cuts).<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those with higher annual family incomes are more inclined to support maintaining the Bush tax cuts in their current form. About four-in-ten (39%) of those with incomes of $75,000 or more say all of the cuts should be maintained. By comparison, about one-in-three (29%) of those with incomes between $30,000 and $74,999 say this, as do just 19% of those with incomes of $30,000 or less.<\/p>\n\n<h2 id=\"gop-still-viewed-as-leaderless-even-by-republicans\" class=\"wp-block-heading\">GOP Still Viewed as Leaderless &#8212; Even by Republicans<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"float: right\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.pewresearch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/old-assets\/publications\/1726-7.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"294\" height=\"431\"><\/figure>\n<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the midterm election campaign heats up, the public continues to see no clear leader atop the Republican Party.Only a quarter offer a name when asked who they think of as the leader of the party these days. More than half say they do not know and 18% volunteer that &#8220;nobody&#8221; leads the party.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Those numbers are little changed since the question was last asked in April.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The latest Pew Research\/National Journal Congressional Connection poll, sponsored by SHRM, conducted Sept. 9-12 among 1,001, finds that Arizona Sen. John McCain and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin each are mentioned by 5% of the public. Beyond the 2008 presidential ticket, another 4% mention House Minority Leader John Boehner, who could become speaker if Republicans take control of the House in the elections. Mentions of Boehner have risen from 1% in April.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Among Republicans, a third (33%) offer a name, but more than half (54%) say they don&#8217;t know and 13% say nobody is the current leader. The most frequently offered names largely match those offered by the public as a whole: 6% offer McCain, while 5% each name Palin or Boehner. Just 1% offered Boehner in April. Another 4% each mention former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney or former Speaker Newt Gingrich.<\/p>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">View <a href=\"http:\/\/pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/reports\/questionnaires\/653.pdf\">the topline<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/report\/?pageid=1800\">survey methodology<\/a> at <a href=\"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/\">pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While a majority of Americans favors allowing changes to Social Security, there is very little support for replacing Medicare with a voucher system. Also, the public continues to see no clear leader atop the GOP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":46,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"sub_headline":"GOP Still Viewed as Leaderless -- Even by Republicans","sub_title":"GOP Still Viewed as Leaderless -- Even by Republicans","_prc_public_revisions":[],"_ppp_expiration_hours":0,"_ppp_enabled":false,"ai_generated_summary":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"relatedPosts":[],"reportMaterials":[],"multiSectionReport":[],"package_parts__enabled":false,"package_parts":[],"datacite_doi":"","datacite_doi_citation":"","_prc_seo_qr_attachment_id":0,"spoken_article_player_enabled":true,"displayBylines":true,"footnotes":"","prc_watchers":[],"_prc_fork_parent":0,"_prc_fork_status":"","_prc_active_fork":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[235,253,114],"tags":[],"bylines":[2134],"collection":[],"datasets":[],"level_of_effort":[],"primary_audience":[],"information_type":[],"_post_visibility":[],"formats":[458],"_fund_pool":[],"languages":[],"regions-countries":[515],"research-teams":[520],"workflow-status":[],"class_list":["post-25467","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economic-policy","category-retirement","category-social-security-medicare","bylines-tom-rosentiel","formats-report","regions-countries-united-states","research-teams-politics"],"label":false,"post_parent":0,"word_count":1053,"canonical_url":"https:\/\/beta.pewresearch.org\/pewresearch-org\/politics\/2010\/09\/14\/mixed-views-of-gop-proposals-on-entitlements\/","art_direction":false,"_embeds":[],"watchers":[],"table_of_contents":[],"report_materials":"","report_pagination":{"current_post":null,"next_post":null,"previous_post":null,"pagination_items":[]},"parent_info":{"parent_title":"Mixed Views of GOP Proposals on Entitlements","parent_id":25467},"materialsOrdered":[],"chaptersOrdered":[],"partsOrdered":[],"partsEnabled":false,"datacite_doi":"","prc_seo_data":{"title":"Mixed Views of GOP Proposals on Entitlements","description":"While a majority of Americans favors allowing changes to Social Security, there is very little support for replacing Medicare with a voucher system. 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