The health care and financial support programs are facing a funding shortfall that may hit as early as the mid-2030s.
A majority of Republicans support making significant changes to Social Security and Medicare to ensure their costs are lower, according to a new Gallup survey. The poll found that 56 percent of Republicans backed making the changes compared to just 18 percent of Democrats.
Why It Matters The health care and financial support programs are facing a funding shortfall that may hit as early as the mid-2030s. The programs, which serve around 70 million Americans each, also contribute to the larger U.S. federal deficit, which has reached roughly $2 trillion. Frank Bisignano, President Donald Trump’s nominee to be commissioner of the Social Security Administration, appears at his Senate Finance Committee confirmation hearing on March 25, 2025, in Washington, D.C. What To Know While Republicans were far more likely to support Social Security and Medicare changes to get the federal deficit down, nearly half of U.S. adults said Congress should reduce the deficit either “mostly” or “only” by cutting spending. That was compared to 17 percent who favor relying mostly or only on tax increases. Another 27 percent said they prefer an equal mix of spending cuts and tax hikes. The findings are based on Gallup’s September 2-16 poll of 1,000 U.S. adults. Most Americans supported increasing income tax rates for upper-income Americans and increasing tax revenues by making major changes to the federal tax code , but the support was largely concentrated among Democrats and independents, not Republicans. More than 70 million Americans rely on Social Security payments each month, and nearly 40 percent of people over age 65 are estimated to be living in poverty if they went without the government support program. In 2034, the Social Security Administration will face an automatic 19 percent cut to benefits based on the current money supply. That would translate to seniors losing around $4,573 a year, dramatically lowering the quality of life for many. What People Are Saying Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: “It should come as no surprise that many Republicans favor spending cuts over tax increases when considering how to fund major social welfare programs going forward. However, this latest polling actually does see some support among party members for tax increases on high-income earners, breaking with decades of aversion to an increase of taxes on Americans of any income level. “It speaks to a growing number of working class Republicans who see the value and need for these programs they themselves will one day rely on and believe if they are willing to accept cuts to some of the services they would receive, wealthier Americans should be willing to pay more to fund them, as well.” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: “Republicans have long been told that waste, fraud, and abuse exist within the system and that a broad overhaul would finally root out those inefficiencies. The belief is that by ‘cleaning up’ the system, the savings could offset future funding shortfalls.” What Happens Next Thompson said even if the United States removed the Social Security wage cap and taxed every dollar of income, it would only solve about 50 to 54 percent of the funding problem. “What’s worse is that the policies we have implemented, like raising the deductible for seniors over 65 and removing the GPO/WEP , work against the long-term health of the system. They may sound good politically, but they take more out of the program without addressing the real issue,” Thompson said. “The only sustainable path forward is to raise the cap, increase taxes on higher-income earners, and remove the structural bottlenecks within our medical system that continue to drive prices higher.”
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