Yesterday, Barack was in Cedar Rapids for a town hall meeting. The focus was on Social Security and advocating for straight talk when it comes to discussing the issue.
He challenged the other Democratic candidates to be honest when talking about the state of Social Security.
Conventional thinking in Washington says Social Security is the third rail of American politics. It says you should hedge, dodge, and spin, but at all costs, don’t answer. ... If we have failed to have a real, honest conversation about Social Security, it will not get fixed. ... But I reject that notion. I think that on issues as fundamental as how to protect Social Security, a candidate for President owes it to the American people to tell us where they stand. Because I don’t think you’re ready to lead if you can’t tell us where you’re going. ... So let me tell you what kind of leadership I will offer as President. First of all, and I’m just going to lay out some basic principles. Number one: I believe privatization is dangerous. It tears at the fabric of Social Security – the idea of mutual responsibility – by subjecting a secure retirement to the whims of the market. Now people will tell you, “Well you can get a higher return if everyone had individual accounts and were investing in the stock market.” That sounds good unless you happened to buy Enron right before you’re about to retire. Then things don’t turn out so good. And the whole concept of Social Security is that there’s supposed to be a floor beneath which you can’t sink. We want to encourage people to save and invest in the stock market, just not your social security dollars, because that’s what’s there set aside and is there for you. That’s why I fought President Bush when he tried to dismantle Social Security and divvy it up into private accounts. And that’s why I will fight efforts for privatization as President. Now the second, we don’t need to cut benefits or raise the retirement age. There are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that do not involve forcing seniors to bear a heavier burden. Their burden currently is heavy enough. The best option, in my view, is to ask the highest income Americans to contribute a little more by raising the ceiling that’s currently put on the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax.
It tears at the fabric of Social Security – the idea of mutual responsibility – by subjecting a secure retirement to the whims of the market. Now people will tell you, “Well you can get a higher return if everyone had individual accounts and were investing in the stock market.” That sounds good unless you happened to buy Enron right before you’re about to retire. Then things don’t turn out so good. And the whole concept of Social Security is that there’s supposed to be a floor beneath which you can’t sink.
We want to encourage people to save and invest in the stock market, just not your social security dollars, because that’s what’s there set aside and is there for you. That’s why I fought President Bush when he tried to dismantle Social Security and divvy it up into private accounts. And that’s why I will fight efforts for privatization as President. Now the second, we don’t need to cut benefits or raise the retirement age.
There are a number of ways we can make Social Security solvent that do not involve forcing seniors to bear a heavier burden. Their burden currently is heavy enough.
The best option, in my view, is to ask the highest income Americans to contribute a little more by raising the ceiling that’s currently put on the amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax.
To emphasize that last point, Barack talked about his friend from Omaha - Warren Buffet. He said Buffet made $46 million last year - an off year for him - but he paid into Social Security at the same level as middle-class families.
Barack also took several questions after his formal remarks.
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