Seniors Most Favorable to Ryan Plan
A new Gallup poll contains what is being touted as a "counterintutive" finding: Seniors are the age group most receptive to the Ryan plan.
The poll finds 48 percent of seniors (those 65 and over) support Ryan's plan over President Obama's plan, while 42 percent back the president.
That's the highest total among the age groups tested - a 47 percent plurality between the ages of 50 and 64 backed Ryan, and a 45 percent plurality of those between 30-49 backed Ryan. But young voters overwhelmingly sided with Obama by a 23-point margin, 53 to 30 percent.
Overall, 44 percent back Obama's plan, while 43 percent support Ryan.
Republicans hold a double-digit lead over Democrats in public perception of which party would do a better job dealing with the federal budget, according to the survey. 48 percent prefer Republicans, while 36 percent prefer Democrats in Congress.
There goes that myth. Demographic decline has a silver lining, so to speak.
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Jan '11
Re: Seniors Most Favorable to Ryan Plan
Just remember: Every silver lining has a dark cloud.
Mar '11
Re: Seniors Most Favorable to Ryan Plan
You could argue that (contrary to Democrat demagoguery) 55-and-over people will be the least affected by the Ryan plan, but would rather benefit from it, since Medicare and Social Security are less likely to go bankrupt. Older people are also generally wiser and more fiscally prudent - this can be seen at a Tea Party rally, where the majority are older.
But the differences in the numbers for different age groups are really quite small, and I am more concerned by the lack of a bigger margin in favor of the Ryan plan. He needs to explain it to a wider audience, preferably on the campaign trail for President :-)
Edited on Apr 27, 2011 at 9:28amMar '11
Re: Seniors Most Favorable to Ryan Plan
What will it take to penetrate the skulls of the under 30's? They are the ones who will be paying for Obama's generocity and they are the ones suffering most from a stagnant economy.
Oct '10
Re: Seniors Most Favorable to Ryan Plan
Ahhh yes, we live in a nice symmetrical universe. What goes around comes around. Isn't the word... justice?
Jan '11
Re: Seniors Most Favorable to Ryan Plan
I'm sad to see that the results aren't more lopsided in favor of Ryan's Plan as well. I worked with(for) seniors for quite a while. While it's good to see them coming around on these issues, but my experience is that they buy more into the Democratic/entitlement spin on this. There is a real dichotomy about them. On the one hand, they have been so responsible, generous and dutiful - on the other, they cling to those entitlements and expect more - the next generation be damned. I suspect some of the results we're seeing here is that they are becoming genuinely worried about the near-term integrity of these programs (even if they are excluded from Ryan's plan).
Re: Seniors Most Favorable to Ryan Plan
This is further grist to my mill. It suggests that 2010 was just the beginning. We could win a landslide in 2012.