Interest in reforming social security endures. (Opinion Pulse).(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included)

Americans are less confident than in the past that they can count on Social Security in their retirement years. That is one reason they are receptive to the idea of personal accounts. Around 60 percent favor allowing people to invest a portion of their Social Security payroll taxes in private accounts. Importantly, as the January and March data below show, neither the Enron scandal nor the stock market's ups and downs have altered public opinion on the issue.

 
Question: A proposal has been made ...? 
 
             Favor allowing people to put 
             a portion of their Social 
             Security payroll taxes into a 
             personal retirement account 
             that would be invested in 
             private stocks and bonds        Oppose 
 
June 2000                 65%                  30% 
March 2001                63                   30 
Aug. 2001                 62                   34 
 Now 2001                 64                   31 
Jan. 2002                 63                   33 
 
Source: Gallup, CNN, USA Today latest that of January 2002. 
 
Note: Table made from bar graph. 
Question. Which of these do you ...? 
 
       Feel fairly sure I can count   Feel fairly sure I 
       on Social Security as a        can count on my 
       source of income during        IRA, 401(k), or 
       my retirement years            Keogh account 
 
1974               88% 
1980                63                        6% 
2001                61                        45 
 
Note: Not all categories shown. 
 
Source: RoperASW, latest that of July 2001. 
 
Note: Table made from bar graph. 
Question: If you had a choice today, would you ...? 
 
Switch to a new system 
where you could ...