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 Ideas such as abolishing the U.S. income tax and shifting many of
the federal government's responsibilities to the states draw robust
support from Republican voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.
But there is much weaker support for curbing government’s role in
providing a social safety net and for curbing some of its regulatory
functions.
The results, from an online poll of 4,770 adults from April 10 to
24, highlight a dilemma for Republican candidates such as Senator
Rand Paul of Kentucky and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas who have made
reducing the size of government a top campaign theme. While many
Americans, particularly Republicans and independents, favor
decreasing government’s size and reach, specific policies for doing
so are far less popular.
 Among Republicans, 51 percent support abolishing the U.S. federal
income tax versus 39 percent who disagree. By 60 percent to 28
percent, Republicans said they believe state governments should have
more authority than the federal government. Fifty-six percent of
Republicans said the federal government should have very little
authority over domestic affairs.
Forty-seven percent of independents favored abolishing the income
tax compared with 38 percent who are opposed. On whether the federal
government should have less authority over domestic affairs,
independents were evenly divided.
But when asked about ending specific functions of the federal
government, voters of all political stripes, including many
Republicans, were less receptive. Nearly 80 percent of Republicans
oppose eliminating middle-class entitlement programs such as Social
Security and Medicare
Sixty-four percent of Republicans oppose getting rid of aid programs
for the poor, such as food stamps and Medicaid. Forty-seven percent
of Republicans disagree with abolishing or significantly reducing
the authority of regulators such as the Food and Drug
Administration. That compared with only 42 percent who agree.
Among independents, 77 percent oppose abolishing programs such as
Social Security and Medicare, and 70 percent were against
eliminating Medicaid and food stamps. Fifty-six percent rejected the
idea of eliminating or reducing agencies such as the FDA.
Adults 60 and older were the largest age group among respondents to
the poll, comprising 28 percent. Those 18-29 made up 17 percent;
those 30-39 and 40-49 each accounted for 16 percent. Respondents age
50-59 made up 23 percent.
Older voters tend to vote in higher numbers.
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Paul hopes to build momentum for his presidential campaign by
rallying the support of libertarians who supported the three White
House bids of his father, Ron Paul. Playing to the base of support
among libertarians, who favor a limited role for government, Paul
has made curbing domestic spying one of his signature issues.
When he launched his 2016 presidential campaign on April 7, Paul
railed against big government and federal deficits.
Cruz, a favorite of Tea Party voters, some of whom lean libertarian,
says he wants to kill off the Internal Revenue Service
tax-collection agency and would replace the current complicated tax
code with a flat tax.
One in five Americans consider themselves libertarian, with younger
adults being the most likely to adopt the label. Among adults aged
18 to 29, 32 percent consider themselves libertarian. Just 12
percent of Americans age 60 or older consider themselves
libertarian.
Matt Welch, editor of the libertarian magazine Reason, said young
people are more likely to consider themselves “free agents,” and
because of that are more likely to gravitate toward libertarianism.
“They don’t belong to churches, they don’t belong to things,” he
said.
The Reuters/Ipsos poll had a credibility interval, a measure of
accuracy, of 1.6 percentage points for all adults.
(Full poll:
http://polling.reuters.com/#!response/TM547Y15/type/smallest/dates/20150410-20150424)
(Reporting by Amanda Becker; Editing by Leslie Adler)
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