Young adults back Bush on Social Security
Support for plan decreases as age increases, poll says
Steven Thomma
Knight Ridder Newspapers
Mar. 3, 2005 12:00 AM
WASHINGTON - Social Security is all about older people, but in the debate about changing it, a lot of the politics is about young people.
Polls indicate that President Bush is losing support for his push to partly privatize Social Security, but the one group he's winning support from may be the most important politically, especially in years to come: young people.
A new poll released Wednesday said that those ages 18-29, the only age group that solidly supports Bush's idea of using their tax money to fund private retirement accounts, is also the only group whose support for the idea has increased in recent months, although by a statistically insignificant margin.
That eye-catching political statistic could influence the debate over Social Security, even though the young people's tilt isn't enough to offset opposition from all other age groups.
If Bush can use the promise of private investment accounts to turn young people into Republicans - they were the only age group that went for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry last year- that shift could cement an enduring Republican majority.
"It has the potential to dramatically change the political landscape," Democratic strategist Erik Smith said.
In his bid to transform Social Security, and perhaps U.S. politics, Bush is driving a generational wedge into the country. He vowed not to change Social Security benefits for those ages 55 and older, hoping to ease the concerns of older Americans. They tend to vote Republican, but more importantly, they turn out to vote more than any other age group.
Yet even if the elders turn against Bush and his party, generational change is coming.
"They're willing to trade everyone over 55 for everyone under 55," Smith said. "They're talking long-term realignment, and they're willing to take some short-term casualties to get it."
Younger Americans, those born since the stagflation of the '70s and the Reagan revolution of the '80s ushered in a new political era of greater faith in markets and less trust of government, tend to like Bush's call to let them invest their tax dollars in markets.
The poll by the Pew Research Center said that 66 percent of those ages 18-29 support private accounts, up from 64 percent in December.
In every other age group, support has dropped since Bush started pushing the idea of private accounts financed by Social Security taxes.
The Pew poll of 1,502 adults was conducted Feb. 16-21 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
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