Poll: Public Opposes Social Security Cuts

Americans may want the budget balanced and taxes cut, but they don’t want Social Security and Medicare spending reduced, according to a new poll conducted by the Washington Post, Harvard University and the Kaiser Family Foundation. The poll shows that most respondents believe the dire forecasts of Social Security and Medicare insolvency, but between half and three-fourths of them oppose an across-the-board reduction in future benefits, a gradual increase in the retirement age or an increase in the Social Security payroll tax.