Little Support for Most Proposals to Reduce the Budget Deficit Reduce Social Security for high-income seniors
Most of the major deficit reduction proposals under discussion meet with public disapproval. Particularly unpopular are provisions that would tax the health insurance people receive from their employers (72% disapprove), raise the national gasoline tax (74% disapprove), and reduce federal funding to states for things like education and roads (71% disapprove). Of 12 ideas tested, just two meet with majority approval: increasing the amount of earned income that is subject to Social Security withholding (64% approve) and freezing the salaries of government workers (59% approve); the latter proposal is supported by President Obama and many Republicans.
Little Support for Most Proposals to Reduce the Budget Deficit  | I Disapprove  | Approve  | Raise Social Security contribution cap  | 27  | 64  | Freeze salaries of federal workers  | 59  | 35  | Reduce Social Security for high-income seniors  | 47  | 48  | Cut back on military weapons programs  | 43  | 50  | Create national sales tax  | 42  | 52  | Gradually raise Social Security retirement age  | 38  | 58  | Eliminate home mortgage interest deduction  | 34  | 56  | Reduce number serving in military  | 34  | 61  | Raise Medicare contributions  | 32  | 64  | Reduce federal education/road funding to states  | 25  | 71  | Raise national gas oline tax  | 22  | .74  | Tax employer- provided health insurance  | 72  | 21  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER Dec. 1-5, 2010 053a-1, 