2007 Democratic primary debate at Dartmouth College: on Social Security

Barack Obama: Privatization puts retirement at whim of stock market

A: I think that lifting the cap is probably going to be the best option. Now we’ve got to have a process [like the one] back in 1983. We need another one. And I think I’ve said before everything should be on the table. My personal view is that lifting the cap is much preferable to the other options that are available. But what’s critical is to recognize that there is a potential problem: young people who don’t think Social Security is going to be there for them. We should be willing to do anything that will strengthen the system, to make sure that that we are being true to those who are already retired, as well as young people in the future. And we should reject things that will weaken the system, including privatization, which essentially is going to put people’s retirement at the whim of the stock market.

Bill Richardson: Don’t raise the cap; it’s a 15% tax on middle class

A: No, you don’t need to do that. That’s a 15% tax on small businesses, on the middle class, on family farms. You don’t need to do that. This is what you do. One, you take privatization off the table. You don’t want Social Security in the stock market. Two, you stop raiding the Social Security Trust Fund, as the Congress and the president constantly do.

Chris Dodd: Readjust the Social Security tax including raising the cap

KUCINICH: Of course we ought to be raising the cap in order to protect Social Security. And in addition, we should be thinking about lowering the retirement age to 65. People’s bodies break down.

DODD: You could do this by basically readjusting that tax so it doesn’t have to affect everyone in society.

Q: But you’d raise the cap to $500,000?

DODD: You’ve got to raise it up, clearly, to do this.

Chris Dodd: Achieve solvency but don’t go so far as to raise the cap

A: I don’t think you have to go that far. You could raise that tax far less than all incomes here and achieve the same result by achieving solvency. But issues like privatization have to be off the table, and I believe you can achieve that solvency here by doing simpler things without the draconian measures that some have suggested.

Dennis Kucinich: Raise the cap to protect Social Security

KUCINICH: Of course we ought to be raising the cap in order to protect Social Security. And in addition, we should be thinking about lowering the retirement age to 65. People’s bodies break down.

DODD: You could do this by basically readjusting that tax so it doesn’t have to affect everyone in society.

Q: But you’d raise the cap to $500,000?

DODD: You’ve got to raise it up, clearly, to do this.

Hillary Clinton: Solvent until 2055 under Bill Clinton; now has lost 14 years

A: First, I think that it’s important to talk about fiscal responsibility. You know, when my husband left office after moving us toward a balanced budget, we had a plan to make Social Security solvent until 2055 Now, because of the return to deficits, we’ve lost 14 years of solvency. It’s now projected to be solvent until 2041. Getting back on a path of fiscal responsibility is absolutely essential. Second, I think we do need another bipartisan process, as in 1983. That has to happen again, but with a president who is dedicated to Social Security, unlike our current president; when he first ran for Congress he was dissing Social Security.

Q: When the Clinton administration left office, Social Security was only guaranteed to 2038, not 2055.

A: There was a plan, on the basis of the balanced budget and the surplus, to take it all the way to 2055. Then George Bush came in, went back to deficits, and has basically used the trust fund to pay for the war.

Hillary Clinton: Nothing else on table until fiscal responsibility returns

A: Well, I take everything off the table until we move toward fiscal responsibility and before we have a bipartisan process. I don’t think I should be negotiating about what I would do as president. You know, I want to see what other people come to the table with.

Q: But Senator Biden says you can’t grow your way out of this. A simple question: What do you put on the table? What are you willing to look at to say, “We’re not going to double the taxes, we’re not going to cut benefits in half; I’m willing to put everything on the table, some things on the table, nothing on the table”?

A: I’m not putting anything on the proverbial table until we move toward fiscal responsibility. I think it’s a mistake to do that.

Joe Biden: Raise the $97,500 cap, but don’t raise retirement age

A: The answer is yes. The truth is, you’re either going to cut benefits or you’re going to go ahead and raise taxes above the first $97,000

Q: Would you also, considering now life expectancy is 78, consider gradually raising the retirement age?

A: Well, we did that once, I supported that. That’s what got it solvent to 2041. By simply raising the cap, you can solve the problem.

John Edwards: Raise cap with “protective zone” from $97K to $200K

KUCINICH: Of course we ought to be raising the cap in order to protect Social Security. And in addition, we should be thinking about lowering the retirement age to 65. People’s bodies break down.

DODD: You could do this by basically readjusting that tax so it doesn’t have to affect everyone in society.

Q: But you’d raise the cap to $500,000?

DODD: You’ve got to raise it up, clearly, to do this.

John Edwards: We can’t grow our way out of Social Security crisis

A: No, sir, you cannot. You cannot solve this problem just by setting up a bipartisan commission. All of us are for that. You cannot solve this problem just by growing the economy. All of us are for that. But the American people deserve to hear the truth. They have heard so much politician double-talk on this issue. That’s the reason young people don’t believe Social Security’s going to be there for them. Why would you possibly trust a bunch of politicians who say the same thing over and over--“We’re going to grow our way out of this”--but nothing changes. The honest truth is there are hard choices to be made here. The choice I would make as president is on the cap. But I don’t understand why somebody who makes $50 million a year pays Social Security tax on the first $97,000, and not all the rest, while somebody who makes $85,000 a year pays Social Security tax on every dime of their income.