Poll finds overwhelming support among Ohioans for a Social Security fix

(Ohio Capital Journal) – With automatic Social Security benefit cuts looming in about six years, Ohioans appear nearly unanimous in wanting the program repaired, according to a poll highlighted by a nonpartisan foundation.

After years of congressional inaction, the Social Security Trust Fund is projected to run out of money in six years. The resulting shortfall would mean an average monthly cut of $487 for beneficiaries in Ohio, according to the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

AARP Ohio says Social Security helps keep more than 700,000 older Ohioans out of poverty, and a benefit reduction of that size would likely push many into hardship at a stage of life when they have little ability to recover.

That outcome is far from what Ohio voters want, according to a survey commissioned by the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

The August poll found that 85% of likely Ohio voters said fixing Social Security is important. Support crossed party lines, including 88% of Republicans, 81% of Democrats and 79% of independents.

The survey also showed that many voters did not know the program is heading toward insolvency.

“Over half of Ohio voters (53%) are unaware of automatic benefit cuts to Social Security set to take place in 2032,” the foundation said. “However, once voters are informed of these automatic benefit cuts, nearly all Ohio voters say it is important for lawmakers to have a plan to reform Social Security to prevent automatic benefit cuts. This urgency for reform spans partisanship and generational divides as well.”

Once told the trust fund is running short, 75% of respondents said they would be more likely to back a U.S. Senate candidate who supports a plan to prevent benefit cuts.

The leading candidates in Ohio’s closely watched U.S. Senate race have both raised concerns about Social Security, though neither has gone into much detail about how they would solve the problem.

Former U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown, a Democrat, recently said he would raise the income level at which Social Security taxes are collected.

“To ensure that Social Security benefits are there for future generations, we need to ensure that billionaires are paying their fair share by raising the tax cap so we can extend the life of the program,” he said.

Workers pay a 6.2% Social Security tax only on the first $184,000 of income, and employers match that amount. Removing that cap would generate significantly more revenue.

Ohio Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Jon Husted has called Social Security a “sacred” commitment he wants to protect. But in a radio appearance on the “Guy Benson Show,” he said he opposed a proposal from Sens. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, and Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., that would raise the cap in the way Brown supports.

“We need to secure Social Security,” Husted said in the interview. “We need to protect it. We need to make it stronger. I also agree that it will require a bipartisan solution. But I’m not on board with the process they’ve outlined regarding the tax increase… the targeted tax increase they have.”

He added, “This rifle approach with a giant tax increase is not the way I’d go about it.”

The discussion then moved on to other topics, and Husted did not say what approach he would favor to fix Social Security. His office did not respond to questions for this story.

The proposal he rejected is popular. The Peterson Foundation poll found that 72% of Ohio voters support it.

Even so, that step alone would not be enough. Citizens for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates it would close only 65% of the solvency gap, leaving more work to do.

Sixty-eight percent of those surveyed said they would support limiting benefits for higher-income recipients. Capping annual benefits for the wealthiest retirees at the normal retirement age of 67 for people born in 1960 at $100,000 for couples and $50,000 for individuals would close another 20% of the gap, if the cap were indexed to inflation, the group estimates.

The organization also outlined another option not included in the Peterson Foundation poll: an employer compensation tax.

That plan would replace employer Social Security and Medicare contributions with a flat tax on all compensation, including very large CEO pay packages and generous benefits. It is estimated to close 66% of the Social Security shortfall and half of a similar Medicare gap.