Survey Results 2006
Ø Secure America’s Future Economy (SAFE) believes that the finances of the federal government are out of control, and that the results – barring corrective action soon – will be disastrous. Current deficits of $300-400 billion per year are bad enough; when the “baby boomers” start retiring (in only a few years) and push Social Security and Medicare outlays through the roof, the situation will get far, far worse.
Ø To express your opinion on how this problem should be addressed, please answer the questions below (it’s easy and fun). SAFE will send a recap (no personal attribution) of all survey responses to political leaders and the media. Look for the recap on our Website (s-a-f-e.org) around 10/1/06, and, while you are at it, check out SAFE’s proposed solutions.
Can We Avert A Fiscal Meltdown?
(annotated for 111 survey responses)
1. Which statement best describes your feelings about the urgency of this problem?
· must be addressed now [87%]
· can be dealt with later [7%]
· will take care of itself [6%]
2. What do you see as the primary solution(s) (check one or two, but not all three, of the following options)?
· Raise taxes [24%]
· Reduce current government expenditures [77%]
· Restructure Social Security & Medicare to reduce future commitments [39%]
3. Raise taxes: rate each of the following options on a 5 (clearly acceptable) to 1 (unacceptable) scale.
· Raise the payroll taxes being paid by active workers to support Social Security and Medicare [2.0]
· Roll back the Bush income tax cuts and then some [3.0]
· Eliminate the exemptions and credits that have effectively relieved half the U.S. population from paying income taxes [3.5]
· Raise Federal excise taxes on gasoline [2.4]
· Impose a national sales or value added tax, not to replace the income tax (as in the FairTax proposal), but as an additional tax [1.9]
4. Reduce government expenditures by eliminating wasteful programs: rate each of these candidates for elimination on a 5 (clearly acceptable) to 1 (unacceptable) scale:
· Congressional “earmarks” for special interest programs [3.5]
· Department of Education (leaving this area to our state and local governments) [2.4]
· The failed “war on drugs” [3.0]
· Agricultural support payments and “corporate welfare” [3.1]
· Federal grants to state and local governments (and, where applicable, the
spending “mandates” that go with them) [2.7]
5. Restructure Social Security and Medicare, in general:
· Were you aware that these programs, on a combined basis, are currently paying out more than the earmarked tax revenues being collected to pay for them?
Yes [59%] No [33%] I don’t believe it [8%]
· If “entitlement” benefits for seniors were to be capped, where would you prefer to see the cutbacks? Social Security [64%] Medicare [36%]
6. Restructure Social Security; rate each of the following options on a 5 (clearly acceptable) to 1 (unacceptable) scale.
· Permit younger workers the option of using the payroll taxes they pay for Social Security to fund personal retirement accounts [3.2]
· Further increase the “normal” retirement age, which is already being raised to 67 by 2027 under current law [2.6]
· Increase the maximum amount (currently 85%) of Social Security benefit subject to income taxes to 100% [2.3]
7. Restructure the healthcare system (the growing Medicare/Medicaid deficit is part of an even bigger problem, rising healthcare costs for everyone due to the “free lunch” mentality that has been fostered by government policies): rate each of the following options on a 5 (clearly acceptable) to 1 (unacceptable) scale:
· Repeal the complex and costly prescription drug benefit for Medicare that was enacted in 2004 and went into effect this year [3.1]
· Restructure existing medical insurance plans (both public and private) by raising deductibles, and requiring beneficiaries to pay their medical bills initially and then seek reimbursement if applicable [2.2]
· Cap punitive damage awards for medical malpractice claims, which are driving up insurance premiums and inducing doctors to order every medical test known to man whether needed or not [3.3]
· Prohibit higher charges for medical products and services to people without medical insurance than to people covered in group plans (why should the most vulnerable people in our society be forced to pay more than anyone else?) [3.3]
8. Please note any additional comments that you may have, either to explain your
answers to the previous questions or to suggest other policy options that should be considered.
Comparatively few write-in suggestions, and those offered were across the political spectrum. For example:
· “Cutting taxes always raises revenues” vs. “tax the millionaires.”
· “Universal healthcare a must” vs. “everyone must contribute to participate.”
Some participants expressed appreciation for the survey, notably the one who said: “I’m only 16, not educated enough about most of these issues.”