First, a bit of Kaaawa morning calm.

Ahhhh. Nice.

Then a bit of news to start the day from a new poll in Virginia.

In a new poll released today , 75 percent of likely voters in Virginia ‘s 2012 election oppose cutting Social Security benefits in order to reduce the federal deficit. Those opposed include 85 percent of Democrats, 63 percent of Republicans, 79 percent of Independents, and 57 percent of Tea Party supporters.

Even the majority of Tea Party supporters opposed cuts to Social Security, the poll found.

When likely Virginia voters were asked “Would you favor or oppose cutting Social Security benefits in order to reduce the federal deficit? ” a total of 75% opposed cutting benefits. Below is a breakdown of those opposed to the cuts by their political affiliation:

Tea Party Supporters …57% opposed to any Social Security benefit cuts
Republicans ……63% opposed to any Social Security benefit cuts
Independents …..79% opposed to any Social Security benefit cuts
Democrats …..85% opposed to any Social Security benefit cuts
TOTALS…………..75% opposed to cutting Social Security benefits

This doesn’t reflect a shift of opinion. It’s been the majority view for some time. Here’s another report of a survey done last year with similar results. I’m sure there are lots more out there.

The “fix” for Social Security appears to be as simple as raising the amount of income subject to the Social Security tax from the current $107,000. That’s the solution proposed by the president’s deficit commission last year, and recently backed by President Obama.

Hmmmm. A friend called yesterday to ask whether I knew if the legislature plans on coming back for a special session this summer. He is concerned about the failure to pass the annual bill to authorize payment of judgements and settlement of claims against the state. The total owed is just over $2 million, but the bill (HB1001) died in conference committee. He believes it is the first time that the state has failed to fund its obligation to pay these claims.

He then called the Speaker’s office and the governor’s office. Both said there are no plans for calling the legislature back and neither expects it to happen.

He wonders how much interest will have to be paid due to this extended delay?

A nagging question. I wonder what happened in the domestic violence trial that hit the news a couple of weeks ago after the arrest of the victim by the prosecutors? Her arrest spawned news reports and blog comments (such as those here). But none of the news reports included the name of the man charged in the case, so it’s not simple to identify the case and check its status. Perhaps a follow-up story is in order?