AARP and GOP Spar Over Poll

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In a sign of the intensifying political battle over Social Security, the AARP released a nationwide poll Monday indicating deep public skepticism about President Bush's plan for personal accounts. The Republican Party immediately criticized the study as flawed.

``Approximately four in 10 respondents initially favored private accounts,'' the seniors' organization said in a summary of its findings. ``However, those who initially favored private accounts dropped off substantially once they were exposed to any of the consequences associated with implementation of private accounts.'


The AARP, which claims 35 million members age 50 and over, opposes Bush's call to allow younger workers to invest a portion of their payroll taxes in personal accounts. The organization carries unquestioned clout among older Americans. Two years ago, the White House and Congressional Republicans successfully enlisted its support for hotly contested legislation to remake Medicare.
John McLaughlin, a Republican pollster, said the AARP survey was ``skewed by age and skewed by politics,'' and that the repeated use of the term ``private accounts'' results in a drop-off in support for Bush's proposals.

Specifically, it said that 43 percent of those surveyed initially said they ``favored private accounts and 47 percent opposed them.'' AARP said support dropped when those polled were told that the consequences of the change might include a lower Social Security benefit in retirement, ban withdrawals prior to retirement, require a new government agency to administer the program, require an additional $1 trillion to maintain the benefits for current Social Security recipients.

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http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/nation/3006804
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4753363,00.html