ITHACA, N.Y. — Social Security remains broadly popular, and as the U.S. population ages, more Americans think the government should do more to help families care for older adults, according to Cornell University-led research investigating shifting attitudes about aging policy.
Between 1984 and 2022, support for increased spending on Social Security grew to nearly 58%, up more than 8 percentage points, according to the researchers’ analysis of nationally representative surveys. The increase reflects a narrowing of the gap between Democrats and Republicans to a nearly negligible level.
Half of Americans now favor the government helping older adults to pay for everyday household tasks — such as grocery shopping, cleaning and laundry — up from roughly 38% since 2012, the analysis shows.
“There is strong support for Social Security, as well as the idea that the government should help provide or pay for care for older adults with care needs,” said Adriana Reyes , assistant professor in the Cornell Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy and lead author of the study. “There’s a pretty large consensus that we need to do more, and that’s an interesting and important shift in thinking.”
To explore how attitudes toward these issues have evolved over time and assess their policy implications, the researchers tapped the General Social Survey (GSS), a long-running, nationally representative survey.
In addition to consistent and growing support for securing Social Security, results showed growing support for government care programs over the decade since the GSS began posing questions about them. While roughly half of Americans want help paying for older adults’ household tasks, support for government provision of such services is weaker but growing, rising from 14% to 24%.
While support for Social Security is bipartisan, Democrats and independents are more likely than Republicans to back government payments for care.
For additional information, read this Cornell Chronicle story .
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Journal of Aging & Social Policy