Americans’ Attitudes Toward Welfare State Spending for Old-Age Programs: An Analysis of Period and Cohort Differences

Using data from the General Social Survey the current study examines period and cohort differences in attitudes toward welfare state spending for old age programs. Using the Torres-Gil classification system, the study uses cross-sectional data from the 1984–2004 waves of data to identify any differences by period and cohort group membership in whether or not it is the government’s responsibility to provide a decent standard of living for older adults, whether or not respondents felt that the current level of spending for Social Security was adequate, and whether or not respondents were willing to make sacrifices such as paying higher taxes to pay for greater retirement benefits. The findings suggest that the generational conflict that many suggested might arise has not come to fruition. Indeed, the youngest cohorts in these analysis were the most likely to support higher taxes to pay for better retirement benefits. Perhaps more interesting were the findings that there were no significant period effects for whether or not the government was responsible for providing a decent standard of living but there were such effects when examining whether or not Social Security funding levels were adequate.