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John H wrote:
On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 07:55:49 -0500, Dave Hall wrote:
On Wed, 23 Mar 2005 06:05:47 GMT, "Jim," wrote:
From a RNC memo
From: "Ken Mehlman, RNC Chairman"
Bunch of BS snipped
First, more people have come to understand the structural problems
facing Social Security's solvency over the last two months, and thus,
the issue has become more important to them. The latest Gallup poll
shows that Americans think Social Security is now the most important
domestic issue. At 12%, Social Security has increased by 8% since
January and is a greater concern than the economy (10%), health care
(9%), or terrorism (9%).
more BS snipped
Second, more Americans agree that Social Security needs strengthening.
According to the recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 72% of Americans
think the Social Security system is headed down the road to a crisis or
will require major changes in order to head of a crisis. Even seniors
believe that changes are necessary to Social Security: a recent Ayres
McHenry poll found 66% of Americans over age 55 believe that Social
Security needs changes. A recent Gallup poll even found a majority of
Americans (51%) believe that it is necessary for Congress to pass
legislation to make changes to Social Security this year.
NOW google "ABC News/Washington Post poll +social security" and find
http://www.pollingreport.com/social.htm
From the survey
"Do you approve or disapprove of the job President Bush is doing in each
of these areas? Handling of Social Security issues."
Approve Disap-prove Unsure
% % %
3/15-17/05 37 54 8
1/12-13/05 40 49 11
"President Bush said that the Social Security system needs to be
overhauled immediately to avert a crisis in the future. Others say that
the system can be saved with relatively small changes and that this is
just a scare tactic. Which view is closest to your own? Is there a
crisis or is this just a scare tactic?"
There Is a Crisis ScareTactic Neither(vol.) Unsure
% % % %
3/15-17/05 43 48 3 6
1/12-13/05 45 44 3 7
"President Bush favors changing the Social Security system to allow
people to invest part of their Social Security payroll tax in stocks and
bonds. Do you favor or oppose this proposed change to Social Security?"
Favor Oppose Unsure
% % %
3/15-17/05 40 52 8
1/12-13/05 44 47 9
Draw your own conclusions.
One of them is wrong.
Your job is to figure out which one.
Dave
I love his new tactic. Cut out the parts he doesn't like, replace with words of
his choosing. I guess anything disagreeable is 'bs'.
The whole memo is posted. Note what was snipped.
Or perhaps added? -- or maybe we are on different lists? (I'll give you
the benefit of the doubt on this one)
The FULL memo I got is below
"Ken Mehlman, RNC Chairman" Add to Address
BookAdd to Address Book
To:
Subject: RNC Memo: Polling Trends In Social Security
Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 22:33:25 -0500 (EST)
Strategy memo MEMORANDUM TO REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE MEMBERS
FROM: Chairman Ken Mehlman
Latest Trends in the Social Security Debate
DATE: March 22, 2005
As the President and Congress have debated Social Security reform over
the past couple of months, certain trends have emerged. Americans have
learned more about the problems facing the current system, and thus, are
more likely to recognize the need for changes in the future, including
Personal Retirement Accounts. The following points are clear:
First, more people have come to understand the structural problems
facing Social Security's solvency over the last two months, and thus,
the issue has become more important to them. The latest Gallup poll
shows that Americans think Social Security is now the most important
domestic issue. At 12%, Social Security has increased by 8% since
January and is a greater concern than the economy (10%), health care
(9%), or terrorism (9%).
The increased importance of Social Security is confirmed by several
other polls. This week's Battleground 2006 poll found Social Security
(17%) as the "number one problem for the President and Congress to deal
with." Also a recent Harris poll found 37% of Americans think Social
Security is the most important issue for the government to address, an
increase of 33% from last October when just 4% thought it was the most
important issue.
Second, more Americans agree that Social Security needs strengthening.
According to the recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, 72% of Americans
think the Social Security system is headed down the road to a crisis or
will require major changes in order to head of a crisis. Even seniors
believe that changes are necessary to Social Security: a recent Ayres
McHenry poll found 66% of Americans over age 55 believe that Social
Security needs changes. A recent Gallup poll even found a majority of
Americans (51%) believe that it is necessary for Congress to pass
legislation to make changes to Social Security this year.
In the past few years, according to polls conducted by the Tarrance
Group, more and more Americans think the Social Security system needs
major changes:
Poll Date Major Changes Modest Changes Minor Adjustment No Change
Tarrance Group 1/10-13/05 53% 31% 12% 1%
Tarrance Group 1/17-21/02 37% 33% 9% 19%
Third, as Americans hear more and more about possible reforms, support
for Personal Retirement Accounts has increased. A recent Gallup survey
found that 58% of Americans believe that Social Security Legislation
should "include a provision that would allow people who retire in future
decades to invest some of their Social Security taxes in the stock
market and bonds."
Support for Personal Retirement Accounts has increased. According to a
recent ABC News/Washington Post poll, fifty-six percent (56%) of
Americans support allowing workers to invest some of their Social
Security contributions in the stock market, while 41% oppose such an
idea. The number of Americans who support PRAs has increased by a net of
6% since last December, when 53% supported the plan and 44% opposed it.
This is the highest level of support for PRAs since the Post first asked
the question in 2000.
Those eligible for Personal Retirement Accounts see benefits from them.
According to a recent Pew poll, among those eligible for Personal
Retirement Accounts, 56% believe investment would bring higher benefits;
just 12% predict lower benefits and 55% would invest if given choice.
Once PRAs are explained, a majority of Americans support them. According
to the Democracy Corps poll, 40% of Americans support PRAs before they
are explained, while 51% oppose them. However, after a plan for
voluntary personal retirement accounts is explained, support rises to
54%, while 45% remain opposed.
Finally, as Americans follow the Social Security Debate, they trust
President Bush more than Democrats to find a solution. According to
recent polls by the Winston Group and NPR, President leads Democrats on
who offers better ideas and who is working on a bipartisan basis.
Bush Advantage Winston Group NPR
Who is willing to work with both political parties to find a
solution? +16 +18
Is offering the right kind of ideas? +8 +6
Who do you trust to make the right kinds of changes? +7 +8
Americans are realizing that Democrats are opposing Social Security
modernization because they lack their own plans: The Democracy Corps
poll also showed that 50% of Americans believe that Democrats are
opposing President Bush's plans to strengthen Social Security just to
block his agenda, while only 42% believe that they are opposing
President Bush's plan because they have a better way to strengthen
Social Security.
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