Americans like Social Security, but no one wants to pay for it, a new survey shows.
To keep Social Security, 53% of Americans under age 30 say they’d rather cut benefits for current retirees than pay more taxes to help keep benefits intact, according to a survey of 2,000 adults by the libertarian think tank Cato Institute. In contrast, 89% of seniors aged 65 and older said younger workers should pay higher taxes to help keep current retirees’ benefits steady.
Social Security benefits are in danger of getting a more than 20% haircut in 2033 unless Congress does something to shore up the program’s finances, but no one, including Congress, can agree on what reforms to make.
“There are no good options on the table,” said Emily Ekins, Cato polling director. “We only have a series of bad options.”
Further complicating matters, most Americans don’t seem to understand how Social Security works, the survey showed.
