Social Security, Medicare and The Budget
1. Should Congress be required to have a balanced budget? Before any new spending there must either be an increase in general tax revenues to pay for it, or cuts in other spending.

 Yes      No

2. Should new spending be suspended when tax revenues fall below the established budget?

Yes      No

3. Should future tax cuts be postponed if tax revenues fall below the established budget?

Yes      No

4. Should Surplus Trust Fund payroll taxes be “locked away,” to pay benefits, and the excess used to pay down debt?

Yes      No

Health Care Costs
5.  Do you have prescription drug insurance?

Yes      No

6. Has your total spending on health care increased in the past 12 months?

Yes      No

 If yes, how much has it gone up per month? 

 0–4%  5–9%  10–14%  15–19%  20% or more

7.  Should Congress add a voluntary prescription drug benefit to Medicare?

Yes      No

8. Should Congress enact measures that prevent prescription drug manufacturers from using tactics to delay the introduction of generic drugs?

Yes      No

9. Should Congress enact measures to make prescription drugs more affordable by requiring drug manufacturers to sell prescriptions to Medicare beneficiaries at the same price as they do to state Medicaid or Veteran’s Administration programs?

Yes      No

10.  Should Congress enact legislation allowing the importation of FDA-approved drugs from Canada?

Yes      No

Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs)
11. Should Congress enact legislation that would provide a more fair COLA by using the senior’s only Consumer Price Index for Elderly Consumers (CPI-E) to calculate the annual COLA?

Yes      No

12. Should Congress enact legislation that would provide an emergency health care COLA that adds an additional 2% to the regular COLA when senior health care costs rise by more than 10% in a calendar year? 

Yes      No

Notch Reform
13. Do you favor or oppose legislation that would provide a 10% permanent increase to the monthly benefit of individuals born 1917 through 1926 who have incomes less than $1500 per month?

Favor        Oppose

14. Which Notch Reform option do you most favor? (Check only one)

$5,000 Lump-Sum payable over four year period
Improved monthly benefit over four year period
10% permanent increase to benefit

What’s the Best “Fix” For Social Security?
15. A. Increase the retirement age to 70 by 2030 and keep adjusting the age as people live longer.

Favor        Oppose

 B. Cut Cost-of-Living Adjustments (COLAs).

Favor        Oppose

 C. Reduce benefits by 5% for future retirees.

Favor        Oppose

 D. Change the benefit formula by increasing the number of years used to calculate average wages from 35 to 40 years.

Favor        Oppose

 E. Reduce benefits for those whose total retirement income exceeds $50,000 per year. A couple with total retirement income (including investment earnings and the value of Medicare) of $70,000 would lose 30% of their Social Security benefit. Over $120,000 they would lose 85%.

Favor        Oppose

 F. Raise payroll tax on both workers and employers by 0.5 percentage point. 

Favor        Oppose

 G. Increase amount of wages subject to Social Security tax from $87,000 to $100,000. 

Favor        Oppose

 H. Tax Social Security benefits like pension benefits. Pension benefits are taxed on the amount a person receives in excess of what they paid in. 

Favor        Oppose

 I. Government invests 40% of the Social Security Trust Funds in private investments such as stocks. 

Favor        Oppose

 J. Create private personal retirement accounts by diverting 1% of Social Security payroll taxes to a private account. 

Favor        Oppose

16. Of the above proposals which one do you most favor? Click one of the following letters that corresponds with the proposal above:

A   B  C   D  E   F  G   H  I   J.

Thank You --