Jonathan Hanson, The National Desk: “While people certainly support the continuation of Social Security and Medicare, and don't want those programs to cut their benefits, people are also reluctant to pay additional cost right now to help sustain those programs and they don't really like the idea of paying more in the future either,” said Jonathan Hanson, a lecturer at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan and a former congressional staffer.
The upcoming financial troubles of the programs has been acknowledged for decades, but there have been few serious efforts to make changes to shore up the programs. As a result, lawmakers are increasingly running out of time to make changes, which experts say will require more extreme measures to be taken to avoid cuts to benefits.
“The current recipients of the programs are very sensitive to changes in those programs. They also are of an age, where they are very regular voters, any changes to Social Security and Medicare are very likely to be a significant factor in how these voters cast their ballots,” Hanson said.