EXCLUSIVE POLL: A Plan That Would Raise Taxes and Could End Social Security and Medicare—is Massively Unpopular

Survey shows 94% percent of likely voters have heard little or nothing about Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s proposal. But when they learn about it, 71% of voters, including 62% of Republicans, oppose what Sen. Ron Johnson described as a “positive thing.” 

Did you know that the Republican senator in charge of winning back control of the US Senate for his party introduced a plan to increase taxes on one-third of Wisconsinites and put Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act in jeopardy? 

If you answered ‘no,’ you’re not alone. According to a new Courier Newsroom/Data for Progress poll, 94% of likely voters said they have heard little or nothing at all about Florida Sen. Rick Scott’s 60-page plan to “Rescue America,” with 72% hearing nothing at all. 

When voters learn about Scott’s plan though, they overwhelmingly oppose it, with 71% of respondents, including 62% of Republicans, opposing Scott’s plan. Only 15% of likely voters support the plan.

Such opposition is not surprising, since the Republican’s plan would raise taxes on tens of millions of Americans and “sunset” all federal legislation in five years, requiring Congress to re-authorize every federal law, including those governing Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. This could create an opening for Republicans—who have long sought to undermine the programs—to ultimately kill them. 

If Scott’s plan were to become law, it could:

• End Social Security and Medicare for more than 1.2 million Wisconsinites 
• End Medicaid coverage for 1.3 million people in the state
• Raise taxes on 32% of Wisconsinites, according to the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy 
• Raise taxes on 52% of small businesses, with the typical business paying an extra $700 per year in taxes, according to a White House analysis.

Sen. Ron Johnson has praised Scott’s plan, telling Breitbart News Daily in March that he agreed with “most of” Scott’s plan and believed it to be a “positive thing.”

Julia Hamelburg, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, blasted the proposal and Johnson’s support of it.

“Republican politicians, including Ron Johnson, continue to push harmful and deeply unpopular agendas to appease big corporations and their richest donors—and Wisconsin’s teachers, firefighters, and business owners are tired of paying the price,” Hamelburg said in a statement. “Come November, voters across our state will hold the Republican Party accountable for trying to raise their taxes, strip away their health care, and threaten the benefits they rely on.” 

The survey of 1,110 likely voters, which was conducted from April 30 to May 3, also shows that the proposal from the Chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee—the “only national organization dedicated to taking back the Senate majority”—could be electoral poison for Republicans. 

Forty-seven percent of independent voters said Scott’s plan would make them less likely to vote for Republican candidates for Congress in November, while only 12% said it would make them more likely to vote for him and 41% said it wouldn’t impact their choice.