Despite Democrat Scare Tactics, Paul Ryan’s Budget Polling Best Among Seniors
When the details of Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget were first made public the left went to their favorite play in the play book. Namely, accusing Republicans of kicking senior citizens and the poor to the curb. This tactic has been tried and true in the past, used to great effect to defeat any meaningful sort of entitlement reform.
But cracks in the facade have been showing. If the “Mediscare” tactics of the Democrats were working you’d expect to see Republicans facing angry town halls not unlike what Democrats faced in the lead up to the passage of Obamacare. While there have been isolated incidents of protests, the title wave of dissent needed to match the heated rhetoric of Democrats is yet to show up in evidence.
And now another crack: A recent Gallup poll indicates that Rep. Paul Ryan’s plan is most popular among…seniors.
Ryan’s plan includes a complete restructuring of Medicare for people younger than 55. Pluralities of middle-aged Americans as well as those 65 and older prefer Ryan’s plan to Obama’s, while adults 18 to 29 show more support for Obama’s, 53% to 30%. These findings are in line with approval of Obama by age, more generally.
The only demographic to favor Obama’s plan over Obama is the 18 – 29 year old group at 53/30. “All other demographics show a six-point edge to Ryan, with approval edging up from 45% to 48%,” writes Ed Morrissey.
What’s actually the most interesting, though, is the 50 – 64 year old demographic which supports Ryan’s plan by 47/41. The senior demographic largely already collecting Medicare can expect to be grandfathered in with their current level of entitlements under Ryan’s plan. But the 50 – 64 year old demographic, who have spent their whole working lives paying into Medicare, are the ones who can expect changes.
Yet they remain comfortable with those changes. At least according to this poll.
Could the threat of the national debt, fueled in large part by run-away Medicare and Social Security spending, finally have risen in importance in the minds of Americans over their thirst for entitlements?
Tags: deficits, medicare, national debt, paul ryan
