Americans are willing to pay more for Social Security

[Independent]

Could be.

Here's a link to the study http://www.nasi.org/sites/default/files/research/What_Do_Americans_Want.pdf

Pretty strong support. No sign of "other people's money" syndrome either. People like Social Security and want to see it strengthened.

Thanks for the link, it's interesting reading. Lots of detail regarding various options. This was a lengthy survey.

Page 19 says that support for "Eliminate Cap" gets almost identical support to "Raise my tax from 6.2% to 7.2%". That really surprised me.

I think wording matters here. Their wording was:

Workers currently pay 6.2% of their earnings to Social Security, matched by the employer. One proposal
would very gradually raise the Social Security tax rate over the next 20 years.

Example: For a worker earning $50,000, gradually raising the tax rate by 1/20th of 1% per year for 20
years would mean, each year, paying about 50 cents more per week, matched by the employer.

I think it would be more accurate to say

Workers currently pay 6.2% of their earnings to Social Security, matched by the employer, for a total of 12.4%.
One proposal would gradually raise the Social Security tax rate over the next 20 years, to 7.2% for each or 14.4% in total.

Example: After 20 years a worker earning $50,000 would pay an additional $42 per month, with the employer also paying an additional $42 per month.

I expect support for the tax rate increase would have been less. But, the strength of the support for the question with their wording probably indicates that even my wording would have had significant support.

 

[ziggy29]

I expect support for the tax rate increase would have been less. But, the strength of the support for the question with their wording probably indicates that even my wording would have had significant support.

I think it would be more supported by those who don't expect to paying the higher tax for too many more years. If all they did was raise my taxes 0.05% per year for another 3 years or so (hoping for Class of 2016) and my benefits wouldn't be watered down or means tested, that would be going a little too easy on me at the expense of those just entering the work force and having to pay the higher tax for their whole lives... and probably face another crisis in SS when they hit middle age.

 

[Independent]

I think it would be more supported by those who don't expect to paying the higher tax for too many more years. If all they did was raise my taxes 0.05% per year for another 3 years or so (hoping for Class of 2016) and my benefits wouldn't be watered down or means tested, that would be going a little too easy on me at the expense of those just entering the work force and having to pay the higher tax for their whole lives... and probably face another crisis in SS when they hit middle age.

According to the survey, you're correct.

Percent Favor:
76% Silent Generation
75% Baby Boomers
68% Gen X
55% Gen Y