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Scott Rasmussen's Number of the Day for August 23, 2023
The Number of the Day columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
August 23, 2023: When informed that Congress and the president are legally allowed to make changes to social security at any time, 72% of voters favor a constitutional amendment to separate social security from the federal budget and guarantee that it is legally obligated to pay all promised benefits. A Scott Rasmussen National Survey found that 16% oppose such an amendment.
Forty-four percent (44%) mistakenly believe that the government is already legally required to make all promised social security payments. Just 37% recognize that social security is a program that Congress and the president can change at any time.
The survey also found that 46% of voters think it is at least somewhat likely that they will receive all of their promised social security benefits, while 39% think that is unlikely. A majority (55%) favors letting people select their own retirement ages, with those wishing to retire earlier paying more in taxes during their working years.
Methodology
The survey of 1,000 registered voters was conducted online by Scott Rasmussen on August 9-10, 2023. Field work for the survey was conducted by RMG Research, Inc. Certain quotas were applied, and the -sample was lightly weighted by geography, gender, age, race, education, internet usage, and political party to reasonably reflect the nation’s population of registered voters. Other variables were reviewed to ensure that the final sample is representative of that population.
The margin of sampling error for the full sample is +/- 3.1 percentage points.
Note: Neither Scott Rasmussen, ScottRasmussen.com, nor RMG Research, Inc. have any affiliation with Rasmussen Reports. While Scott Rasmussen founded that firm, he left nearly a decade ago and has had no involvement since that time.
Survey Questions
Under current law, there is no legal requirement for the government to pay promised Social Security benefits. Congress can change the formulas and benefits at any time. Knowing this, would you favor or oppose a Constitutional Amendment separating Social Security from the federal budget and guaranteeing that it is legally obligated to pay promised benefits?
- 44%-Strongly favor
- 28%-Somewhat favor
- 9%-Somewhat oppose
- 7%-Strongly oppose
- 12%-Not sure
Is the government legally required to make all promised Social Security payments, or is it a program that Congress and the president can change at any time?
- 44%-The government is legally required to make all promised Social Security payments
- 37%-It is a program that Congress and the president can change at any time
- 20%-Not sure
How likely is it that you will receive all of your promised social security benefits?
- 16%-Very likely
- 30%-Somewhat likely
- 26%-Not very likely
- 13%-Not at all likely
- 15%-Not sure
Another proposal has been made that would let people select their own Social Security retirement age. Those who wanted to retire earlier could do so by paying more in taxes during their working years. Those who wanted to retire later would pay less in taxes. Would you favor or oppose this proposal?
- 16%-Strongly favor
- 39%-Somewhat favor
- 20%-Somewhat oppose
- 7%-Strongly oppose
- 18%-Not sure
Each weekday, Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day explores interesting and newsworthy topics at the intersection of culture, politics, and technology.
- August 22, 2023-77% of voters say that America was founded on freedom, equality, and self-governance
- August 21, 2023-140 years ago, the 1883 Rochester Tornado struck
- August 18, 2023-40% of voters believe it is at least somewhat likely that Russia will be defeated by Ukraine and its allies
- August 17, 2023-45 years ago, the crew of the Double Eagle II completed the first-ever transatlantic flight via balloon
- August 16, 2023-61% of voters favor putting video cameras in public school classrooms to ensure accountability
- To see other recent numbers, check out the archive.
Scott Rasmussen’s Number of the Day is published by Ballotpedia weekdays at 8:00 a.m. Eastern. Click here to check out the latest update.
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Columns published on Ballotpedia reflect the views of the author.
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See also
Footnotes
