NEPTUNE, N.J., March 4 (UPI) -- Most U.S. voters say they believe those who work for the government get better retirement benefits than those in the private sector, a survey shows.
A Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey released Friday found 71 percent of likely voters in the United States said they feel government employees get better pensions than private-sector workers. Only 14 percent disagree, while 15 percent say they are not sure.
The survey said 32 percent of all voters said it was at least somewhat likely their state would be able to afford all the pension benefits it promised to state workers while 56 percent said it wasn't likely their state would be able to fulfill the promise. Those figures include the 8 percent who say it is very likely and the 16 percent who say it is not at all likely.
Most Americans say they believe government workers have more job security than those in the private sector and government employees don't work as hard as private sector workers, the survey showed.
The survey noted 78 percent of all voters say they have followed recent news stories about pension plans provided for government employees, with 50 percent saying they are following very closely.
The survey showed 52 percent of Wisconsin voters say they oppose efforts to weaken collective-bargaining rights for union workers, but 44 percent support a 10-percent pay cut for all state workers.
While the fight rages between Gov. Scott Walker and the public employee unions in the court of public opinion, 44 percent of Wisconsin voters say they continue to see spending cuts alone as the proper path to solving the state's budgetary woes, the Rasmussen Reports survey showed.
The survey of 1,000 likely voters was conducted March 2-3 and has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
