On the 87th Anniversary of Social Security, Voters Fear Republican Cuts and Want Democrats to Expand Benefits
By Carly Berke and Devi Ruia
Since Senator Rick Scott, the chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, released his 11-point plan to “Rescue America” — which includes a proposal to end all federal legislation, including Social Security, after five years — the GOP has made it clear that it has set its sights on cutting Social Security benefits. In June, Sen. Lindsey Graham went on the record about Social Security, hinting that seniors should “take a little less” and “pay a little more in” to improve the solvency of Social Security. And in August, Sen. Ron Johnson said Social Security and Medicare should be classified as “discretionary spending,” meaning Congress can vote to increase or decrease Social Security funding every year at its own discretion.
However, recent polling from Data for Progress throughout June and July finds that voters overwhelmingly support Social Security and want Congress to expand Social Security benefits to help beneficiaries meet rising costs. These Republican attacks on Social Security are in sharp contrast with public opinion, and Democrats should capitalize on this opportunity to communicate about their efforts to protect and expand Social Security.
Americans are already frightened the government will cut Social Security benefits. Data for Progress polling finds that 86 percent of voters are “very” or “somewhat” concerned that the U.S. government will reduce Social Security benefits for those who currently receive them. We also find that 79 percent of voters are concerned the government will privatize Social Security, and 67 percent of voters are concerned the government will raise the Social Security eligibility age over 62.
Voters are already worried that the government is gearing up to cut Social Security benefits — and that’s before most voters have even heard about Scott’s drastic plan to end the program. When asked how familiar they are with Scott’s plan to “sunset” all federal legislation after five years, 70 percent of voters — including 76 percent of Independents — respond that they have heard “nothing” about it.
With Republicans in leadership actively trying to dismantle one of the most popular government programs, Democrats must be more proactive about defending and expanding Social Security.
First, voters across the ideological spectrum overwhelmingly support expanding Social Security benefits to help beneficiaries meet rising costs. Data for Progress polling finds that a whopping 81 percent of voters, including 79 percent of Independents and 75 percent of Republicans, support Democratic legislation to expand Social Security benefits and protect beneficiaries against the rising cost of living.
Moreover, voters strongly support the pay-fors introduced in new legislation that would increase the solvency of Social Security and pay for new, expanded benefits. We find that 76 percent of voters support imposing a payroll tax on Americans making more than $400,000 annually, including 88 percent of Democrats, 76 percent of Independents, and 65 percent of Republicans.
What’s more, voters still overwhelmingly support expanding Social Security benefits, even after being presented with some of the Republican arguments against new legislation. Specifically, our polling reveals that 79 percent of voters, including 72 percent of Independents and 72 percent of Republicans, believe Congress should vote to expand Social Security benefits now, even though Democratic proposals only expand benefits for five years and would raise taxes on Americans earning more than $400,000 per year.
We also find that messaging about Social Security could significantly improve Democratic performance in November. In a congressional ballot test we ran in July, Democrats trailed Republicans by 2 points (our updated Generic Congressional Ballot tracker is available here). But after adding a message in the same survey about Democrats trying to expand Social Security to help beneficiaries address higher costs of living while Republicans don’t want to expand Social Security because it would impose taxes on Americans making more than $400,000 per year, we see Democratic performance increase by 10 points and Republican performance fall by 13 points, giving Democrats a +21-point advantage over Republicans.
Obviously, this doesn’t mean every congressional Democrat who runs on Social Security will win their race by a +21-point margin. But it does mean that contrasting Democratic efforts to expand Social Security with Republican efforts to cut Social Security could have a significant impact on voters, who are remarkably united in their support for Social Security and their interest in seeing Social Security benefits expanded to help beneficiaries cover rising costs.
Finally, it’s not enough to just tell voters that Democrats are opposed to Republican plans to cut or end Social Security. Voters — particularly Independent voters — respond more favorably to Democrats when they learn Democrats are actively trying to expand Social Security benefits.
In polling we published in April, we find that when Independent voters are told Democrats oppose Republican efforts to cut Social Security, 39 percent say they’re more likely to vote for the Democrat. But when Independent voters are told Democrats oppose Republican efforts to cut Social Security and they have a plan to increase Social Security benefits, 58 percent of them say they are more likely to vote for a Democrat. That’s a 19-point difference — a significant margin in a year where frontline Democrats are facing tough reelection odds.
Eighty-seven years old this week, Social Security is a historic program that is trusted and relied upon by millions of Americans. Voters across the ideological spectrum support expanding Social Security benefits to help beneficiaries meet rising costs and ensure that seniors living on Social Security can retire in comfort and dignity.
With the GOP saying the quiet part out loud — that they’re coming for Social Security benefits — it's clear that Democrats must take GOP threats to Social Security seriously and fight to protect and expand such a sacred American program.
Carly Berke is the Strategic Partnerships Coordinator at Data for Progress.
Devi Ruia is Press Secretary at Data for Progress.