WASHINGTON, May 3 (UPI) -- Most Americans believe Social Security and Medicare costs constitute a crisis for the federal government or will be one within 10 years, a poll indicates.
Thirty-four percent of those polled thought it was already a crisis, and 33 percent said they thought it would be in no more than 10 years, a Gallup poll released Tuesday said.
Republicans were more likely to describe the programs' costs as a crisis than Democrats, 76 percent to 54 percent.
Those seniors now receiving Social Security and Medicare are least likely to see a near-term crisis from those programs. Fifty-seven percent of seniors believe the programs' costs will create a crisis for the United States within 10 years or are already doing so, compared with roughly two-thirds or more of other age groups.
This difference could stem from the fact that most proposals to change Social Security and Medicare exempt those now 55 or older.
The poll was conducted by telephone April 20-23 with a random sample of 1,013 adults, age 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia with a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, Gallup said.
