Public Opposes Cutting Social Security To Trim Deficit: New Poll (huffpost)

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/08/11/public-opposes-cutting-so_n_678374.html

Ryan Grim [e-mail]

Public Opposes Cutting Social Security To Trim Deficit: New Poll
First Posted: 08-11-10 10:38 AM | Updated: 08-11-10 10:38 AM


Social Security turns 75 this week and remains an intensely popular program with voters of all ages, who strongly oppose cutting it to reduce the deficit, according to a new survey paid for by AARP and conducted by GfK Roper.

The poll, which was provided exclusively to HuffPost, finds that 85 percent of adults oppose cutting Social Security to reduce the deficit; 72 percent "strongly oppose" doing so.

Numbers like that simply don't appear in surveys of almost any other national issue that is subject to debate.

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The strong support for the program isn't ideological but personal and visceral. Cutting Social Security would bring real pain, survey respondents said. Just shy of two-thirds say that their family would be hit hard if Social Security were cut. Eighty percent of Americans say that Social Security alleviates the financial burden of taking care of parents. Prior to the enactment of Social Security, the elderly consistently drained the savings of their children in their waning days or were shipped off to homes known as "poor houses" -- a phrase that survives today as a cliché disconnected from its original use.

complete story at link

Well, there you have it - support for Social Security is "personal and visceral".

BUT

Do the politicians even care what we want? We wanted a public option too, did that matter? What counts is what the corporate pockets want,and they want continued tax breaks for the wealthy and budgets balanced on the backs of the poor, hungry, elderly and ill.

Why would I have confidence in the same pols who fund education by defunding food stamps to look out for the people's interests when it comes to protecting Social Security? You know what is sick? They cut food stamps to gain the votes of those 2 idiots from Maine - Snowe and Collins. Does it matter that 1 out of 6 Maine households uses foodstamps? Good job looking out for your constituents, you heartless ("but they seem so reasonable") Conservative ghouls!

http://www.sunjournal.com/node/695677

More from Katrina vanden Heuvel
http://www.thenation.com/blog/153881/food-stamps-or-teachers

(Sorry for that digression. Still mad about the food stamps.)

We need to start letting them know NOW how "personal and visceral" people feel about them screwing around with Social Security benefits.

[xchrom]

1. recommend -- now somebody hand that poll to the catfood commision. nt

[dkf]

2. What do they support cutting?

My guess is nothing.

[mediaman007]

4. I'm all for cutting the military.

I'm all for repaying the social security fund. I'm also for raising the ceiling on contributions.

There are other choices.

[havocmom]

5. Many support cutting waste at DOD

and many support cutting tax breaks for huge corporations that are doing quite well.

Many support cutting tax cuts for the top tier that do not need more money.

Many support cutting money on the useless war against Marijuana and some even support cutting money for the war on drugs in its useless entirety.

[Vincardog]

12. I support cutting the RAYgun TAX cuts for the rich. Raising the limit on FICA that is taxed

How about cutting the amount we spend to keep people in jail by releasing all the nonviolent drug offenders?
Don't forget that Social Security has NOTHING to do with the DEFICIT in the FIRST PLACE.

[Jamastiene]

3. Next up, the public will be called lunatic fringe commies.

I don't think the majority in our government cares what the public thinks. They'll just call the public lunatic fringe or The Professional Left or some other nonsense and do whatever the fuck they want to do anyhow. It looks like Social Security is getting cut whether the public wants it or not. I'm starting to understand their MO much better now.

Should we start trying reverse psychology on them now and tell them dammit, we want more wars, less social programs, and more torture? I wonder if that would work. Nothing else is working. That much is for sure.

[havocmom]

7. You're right. They don't care. We are irrelevent, because nations are irrelevent

Only corporate entities matter and have power. All governments and all pols serve those international corporate entities.

Have to laugh. For years, decades, the RW trembled in fear that the UN was gonna take over the US. Foolish notion. Now I wonder if the seed was planted by the tier heading up the mega multi national corporations who WERE taking over the US. Deflect, divert, divide, demoralize. Then line up the politicians to pull the trigger on the American people.

Same done in other nations where capitalism reigns over socialism.

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

11. Nations are still relevant only for their ability to tax

Once they figure out a way to privatize the last remaining functions of government then we can become official corporate fiefdoms.

[rocktivity]

6. There's no neet to cut Social Security AT ALL

when the real solution is raising or eliminating the salary cap. Unfortunately for Bush, the American people figured that out.

Privatizing SS is a fiscally irresponsible rich-get-richer scheme no matter who's peddling it. Why hand one third of the SS lockbox to Wall Street--because they're paying congress and the media with campaign donations and ad revenues?

:headbang:
rocktivity

[BrklynLiberal]

8. Since when has what the public thinks for wants mattered much to Washington?

They don't need no stinkin' polls...

They tend to do what they are told by their corporate masters...

[Kingofalldems]

9. K and R for the teabaggers

[SammyWinstonJack]

10. Doesn't matter. We don't matter. Iraq anyone?

:shrug:

[Bitwit1234]

13. The republicans know how to get their message out there

don't they,. Guess that's cause they have the MSM in their pocket. They have wanted to get rid of social security ever since the day FDR and the Democrats passed it in to law. NOW OF ALL THINGS. With a supposed Democratic president and congress they might get a change to do it. Just goes to show OUR NEW DEMOCRATS aren't the OLD DEMOCRATS.