Poll Finds 3 in 4 Voters Want to Expand Social Security By Taxing the Rich

New polling finds that bipartisan majorities of voters support plans to expand Social Security by taxing the rich, showing that the public overwhelmingly backs Democrats’ recent proposals to bring stability and funding to the program.

Data for Progress conducted a poll last month found that 81 percent of respondents strongly or somewhat support Democrats’ plans to peg Social Security benefits to the cost of living, including 88 percent of Democrats and 75 percent of Republicans.

There is also wide support for funding the plan by taxing the rich, as Democrats have proposed; 76 percent of respondents say that they support increasing payroll taxes on people making over $400,000 a year to fund Social Security expansion and ensure the program’s solvency.

Last year, Democrats introduced a bill, named the Social Security 2100, that would provide an immediate bump to Social Security payments and update the program’s cost of living adjustment formula to better match inflationary pressures. The bill would allow lawmakers to extend the program’s insolvency date to 2038, which gives them five more years to find other funding mechanisms.

The bill would increase funding by ensuring that Social Security tax payments are equally applied to all income levels. At present, the tax is not collected on wages exceeding $143,000. People who earn more than this pay less.

House progressives can be found here Advocate forThis week marks the 87th anniversary of the program and the bill was passed. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) introduced A similar billIn June, the program was expanded. However, it proposes higher payments and would fully fund the program up to 2096.

Voters are also concerned about lawmakers cutting Social Security and threatening insolvency. Republicans are currently trying to get support from their base for cuts to Social Security, even though they disagree with them.

According to the poll, almost all voters are very, somewhat, or slightly concerned about lawmakers cutting Social Security benefits. It would be a disasterMany seniors, who are already living in poverty or going paycheck to paycheck, are concerned about their Social Security payments. Ninety-three percent of respondents said that they’re concerned about reducing benefits, while 94 percent are concerned about the program’s solvency.

Further, voters don’t want the program to be privatized or the eligibility age to be raised above 62, with 92 percent and 84 percent, respectively, saying that they’re concerned about those issues.

Republicans have threatened to take a machete and end the program. Sen. Rick Scott (R. Florida), made the announcement earlier this year. Released a plan for the GOP that would — among other things — end the automatic renewal of all federal programs, including Social Security, forcing Congress to vote to reauthorize them every five years.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R. Wisconsin) also supported this idea earlier in the month. He stated that programs such as Medicare and Social Security should be preserved. Should be subjectto an annual vote. This would likely lead a massive cut to the programs or, eventually, privatization. have also been threatening to do. Privatization would likely result in large cutswealthy Wall Street investors while securing their pockets.

However, the poll has good news for Democrats who want to expand the program. Among independent voters who were told that Democrats support expanding the program, 58 percent said they’d be more likely to vote for Democrats. On the other hand, among those who were told that Democrats merely oppose ending the benefits but don’t necessarily support expansion, only 39 percent said they’d be more likely to vote for Democrats.