Scribd

!!!

MAY$2013$TOPLINE$RESULTS$

$RELEASED:$MAY$17,$2013$

!The!Reason*Rupe!May!2013!Poll!interviewed!1,003!adults!on!both!mobile!(503)!and!landline!(500)!phones,!including!263!respondents!without!landlines!from!May!9!to!13,!2013.!The!margin!of!sampling!error!is!+/*!3.7%.!Princeton!Survey!Research!Associates!International!(PSRAI)!conducted!the!survey.!Interviews!were!done!in!English!by!Princeton!Data!Source,!LLC.!Statistical!results!are!weighted!to!correct!known!demographic!discrepancies.!When!feasible,!answer!choices!within!questions!were!rotated.!For!more!methodological!information,!please!visit!http:!reason.com/reason*rupe*poll*methodology.!!The!poll!questionnaire,!crosstabs,!and!analysis!can!be!found!at!reason.com/poll.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

''''

'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

!!!!

!

!

Page!1!of!9!Reason*Rupe!Poll!!|!!May!9–13,!2013!!|!!reason.com/poll

!

!

1.!!Generally!speaking,!would!you!say!things!in!this!country!are!heading!in!the!right!direction!or!in!the!wrong!direction?!



Right!Direction!...................................................!34%!



Wrong!Direction!................................................!57%!



Neither!(Vol.)!.......................................................!5%!



Don’t!Know/Refused!(Vol.)!................................!5%!



Total!.................................................................!100%!!2.!Do!you!approve!or!disapprove!of!the!way!Barack!Obama!is!handling!his!job!as!President?!!!



Approve!.............................................................!50%!



Disapprove!.........................................................!43%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!3.!Do!you!approve!or!disapprove!of!the!way!Barack!Obama!is!handling!the!economy?!!!



Approve!.............................................................!45%!



Disapprove!.........................................................!47%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!4.!Do!you!approve!or!disapprove!of!the!job!the!U.S.!Congress!is!doing?!



Approve!.............................................................!16%!



Disapprove!.........................................................!75%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!5.!Compared!to!this!year’s!federal!budget,!do!you!think!next!year’s!federal!budget!should!increase!spending,!decrease!spending,!or!keep!the!same!level!of!spending?!



Increase!..............................................................!16%!



Decrease!............................................................!54%!



Keep!the!same!level!..........................................!23%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!6.!!Thinking!about!the!elections!for!the!U.S.!House!of!Representatives!next!year,!which!of!the!following!would!you!most!like!to!see?!



More!Democrats!elected!to!Congress!............!31%!



More!Republicans!elected!to!Congress!..........!23%!



More!Independent!and!third!party!candidates!elected!to!Congress!..........................................!38%!



(Vol.)!None!of!these/Keep!things!as!is!..............!3%!



(Vol.)!Don’t!Know/Refused!................................!5%!



Total!.................................................................!100%!!7.!Next,!which!of!the!following!best!describes!your!views!about!the!2010!federal!health!care!law,!also!known!as!Obamacare?!!



You!liked!the!law!when!it!passed!and!you!still!like!it!..........................................................................!32%!



You!liked!the!law!when!it!passed,!but!like!it!less!now!......................................................................!7%!



You!disliked!the!law!when!it!passed,!but!like!it!more!now!............................................................!4%!



You!disliked!the!law!when!it!passed!and!you!still!dislike!it!..............................................................!45%!



(Vol.)!Don’t!Know/Refused!..............................!12%!



Total!.................................................................!100%!!8.!Do!you!have!a!very!favorable,!somewhat!favorable,!somewhat!unfavorable,!or!very!unfavorable!view!of!Social!Security?!



Net$favorable$.....................................................$64%$



Net$unfavorable$................................................$28%$

!



Very!favorable!...................................................!25%!



Somewhat!favorable!........................................!39%!



Somewhat!unfavorable!....................................!17%!



Very!unfavorable!..............................................!11%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!!!!!

!

!

Page!2!of!9!Reason*Rupe!Poll!!|!!May!9–13,!2013!!|!!reason.com/poll

!

9.!What!one!word!would!you!use!to!describe!Social!Security?!(OPEN)!



Positive!...............................................................!34%!



Negative!.............................................................!39%!



Neutral!...............................................................!11%!



Don’t!Know!........................................................!16%!



Total!.................................................................!100%!!



Good/Helpful!.....................................................!17%!



Unstable/Unsustainable!...................................!12%!



Bad/Sham/Hoax!................................................!10%!



Necessary/Vital!...................................................!7%!



Broke/Underfunded!...........................................!6%!



Mismanaged/Messy!...........................................!5%!



Security/Reliable/Safety!Net!..............................!5%!



Retirement!Plan/Pension!...................................!4%!



Other!(Vol.)!........................................................!19%!



Don’t!Know/Refused!(Vol.)!..............................!15%!



Total!.................................................................!100%!!10.!Do!you!currently!receive!any!Social!Security!payments!from!the!U.S.!government?!



Yes!......................................................................!24%!



No!.......................................................................!75%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!11.!!In!general,!do!you!think!of!Social!Security!as!a!retirement!fund!that!workers!pay!into!to!finance!their!own!future!benefits,!or!do!you!see!it!as!a!transfer!program!where!workers!pay!for!the!retirement!benefits!of!current!retirees?!



A!retirement!fund!that!workers!pay!into!to!finance!their!own!future!benefits!....................!52%!



A!transfer!program!where!workers!pay!for!the!retirement!benefits!of!current!retirees!...........!38%!



Both/Neither!(Vol.)!.............................................!6%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!!!As!you!may!know,!Social!Security!currently!pays!out!more!than!it!collects!in!taxes.!Without!any!changes,!the!Social!Security!Trust!Fund!will!be!depleted!in!2033,!possibly!resulting!in!a!benefit!reduction!of!25!percent!or!more.!!12.!!To!slow!down!the!rising!costs!of!Social!Security,!would!you!favor!or!oppose!changing!the!way!benefits!are!calculated!so!they!increase!at!a!slower!rate!than!they!do!now?!



Favor!..................................................................!57%!



Oppose!...............................................................!34%!



Don’t!Know/Refused!(Vol.)!..............................!10%!



Total!.................................................................!100%!!13.!!To!deal!with!this!financial!shortfall…would!you!say!it!is!more!important!to!maintain!the!current!level!of!Social!Security!benefits!for!seniors,!even!if!it!requires!major!tax!increases!or!maintain!the!current!level!of!taxes,!even!if!it!requires!major!Social!Security!benefit!reductions!by!only!paying!Social!Security!to!seniors!in!financial!need?!!



Maintain!the!current!level!of!Social!Security!benefits!for!seniors,!even!if!it!requires!major!tax!increases!............................................................!47%!



Maintain!the!current!level!of!taxes,!even!if!it!requires!major!Social!Security!benefit!reductions...!.............................................!37%!



Both/Neither!(Vol.)!.............................................!8%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!14.!!Would!you!favor!or!oppose!raising!Social!Security!taxes!to!maintain!current!seniors’!benefits!today,!even!if!current!workers!would!eventually!get!back!less!in!benefits!than!they!paid!in?!



Favor!..................................................................!37%!



Oppose!...............................................................!57%!






Total!.................................................................!100%!!!!

More From Emily McClintock Ekins