State of Oregon Archives: on Social Security
Bud Pierce:
Require automatic enrollment with payroll deductions
Q: What would you do to reverse the trend of under saving for retirement?William (Bud) Pierce: Legislation to require automatic enrollment with a payroll deduction mechanism, while allowing employees to opt out, should be considered to improve
individual savings for retirement. Improving job quality (pay), while lowering the cost of living (Oregon is the nations second least affordable state) will do much to help people save for retirement.
Kate Brown: Oregonians deserve the opportunity
to work for a reasonable wage and plan for their future so they can retire with greater peace of mind. The first step in ensuring all workers have retirement security is creating the new state retirement savings program.
We should be moving toward more opportunities to save for retirement--not take options away. I will continue to increase awareness of retirement security issues and support legislation to do so.
Source: AARP Voter Guide on 2016 Oregon Gubernatorial race
Oct 31, 2016
Casey Kulla:
Government should fund Social Security for caregivers
Families in Oregon often rely upon a patchwork of childcare and this is a huge barrier to full employment, robust economic activity, and women developing full careers while raising a family.
A strong childcare tax credit will reduce these barriers, and the federal government can pay into Social Security and Medicare on behalf of primary caregiver parents, to recognize their unpaid but valuable work.
Source: 2021 OR Governor campaign website KullaForOregon.com
Aug 30, 2021
Gordon Harold Smith:
People should prepare for retirement in addition to Soc.Sec.
Merkley said he's opposed to Smith's plan to privatize Social Security, which he said would have been a dangerous move with the falling stock market.Smith said that as senator he has done more to help encourage Americans to save more as a way to
better prepare for retirement and add to the benefits received under Social Security. He took issue with Merkley for suggesting he wanted to do away with Social Security. "In war and the Merkley campaign, the truth is the first casualty," he said.
Source: 2008 Oregon Senate Debate, in Southern Ore. Mail Tribune
Oct 14, 2008
Jeff Merkley:
Privatization would melt away retirement in stock crash
Merkley said he's opposed to Smith's plan to privatize Social Security, which he said would have been a dangerous move considering how hard retirement funds have been hit by the falling stock market. "It would have melted away the way Wall Street has
melted away," he said.Smith said he encourages Americans to save more as a way to better prepare for retirement and add to the benefits received under Social Security. He took issue with Merkley for suggesting he wanted to do away with Social Security
Source: 2008 Oregon Senate Debate, in Southern Ore. Mail Tribune
Oct 14, 2008
Jeff Merkley:
Fight efforts to privatize; honor promises to seniors
We have made promises to our seniors that they have honored through decades of hard work, and that we must keep to seniors today and tomorrow.
Jeff believes that Social Security and Medicare are a covenant with our seniors, and has fought against efforts to privatize or weaken these essential programs.
Source: Vote-USA.org on 2014 Oregon Senate incumbents
Oct 24, 2014
Jim Huffman:
Option of putting payroll taxes in a private account
Huffman argued that [Wyden's] proposals are too small when the country faces double-digit unemployment and a terribly slow recovery. He said Wyden's great mistake was voting for the stimulus bill because those funds will never be returned to taxpayers.Huffman said the ad was full of lies and half-truths. He said he supported the bank bailout because it was the best of a batch of bad policies the federal government was considering at the start of the financial crisis.
He said he doesn't support privatizing Social Security, but believes people should be given the option of putting payroll taxes in a private account.
Source: Mail Tribune coverage of 2010 Oregon Senate debate
Oct 22, 2010
Jo Rae Perkins:
System broken for decades; stop borrowing from Trust Fund
Q: How would you guarantee Social Security benefits for future generations?A: The system has been broken for decades, Congress continues to "kick the can down the road." Congress must stop borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund. Currently,
the biggest challenge is the amount of the future anticipated payouts. Social Security should provide about 30% of retirement income. We need to teach the importance of saving money, how to become debt free, learn to pay cash, save for retirement.
Simultaneously, Congress must reduce the size of the federal bureaucracy. This will free up our tax money and provide more for us to have as savings. In summary, there is not a simple answer to this problem. The people will need to decide if they
want to pay a higher percentage of their income into Social Security, raise the full retirement age, & eliminate early retirement, or let the system go away. If nothing is done, the program is on tract to be bankrupt by 2034.
Source: AFA iVoterGuide on 2020 Oregon Senate race
Nov 3, 2020
Jo Rae Perkins:
Let younger people use individual retirement account
Perkins said she wants to reduce the government role in health care, not increase it.
And she said that the way to keep Social Security solvent is to gradually shift the system so that younger people contribute to an individual retirement account.
Source: Oregon Public Broadcasting on 2022 Oregon Senate race
Sep 28, 2020
Kate Brown:
More options & opportunities to save for retirement
Q: What would you do to reverse the trend of under saving for retirement?Kate Brown: Today, the average savings for Oregonians approaching retirement age is $12,000. Depending where you live, that's not even enough to cover rent for a single year.
Oregonians deserve the opportunity to work for a reasonable wage & plan for their future so they can retire with greater peace of mind. The first step in ensuring all workers have retirement security is creating the new state retirement savings program.
We should be moving toward more opportunities to save for retirement--not take options away. I will continue to increase awareness of retirement security issues and support legislation to do so.
William (Bud) Pierce:
Legislation to require automatic enrollment with a payroll deduction mechanism, while allowing employees to opt out, should be considered to improve individual savings for retirement.
Source: AARP Voter Guide on 2016 Oregon Gubernatorial race
Oct 31, 2016
Kevin Stine:
Opposes privatizing Social Security
Q: Do you support or oppose the statement, "Privatize Social Security"?
A: Oppose.
Source: Email interview on 2016 Oregon Senate race with OnTheIssues
Jan 1, 2016
Monica Wehby:
Put entitlements on a path to being financially secure
Our seniors spent their entire lives paying into those systems and Monica will oppose any change to the benefits that have already been promised to seniors who are at or near retirement. However, these programs are on track to become
insolvent, leaving the next generation of seniors to face the possibility that they will face serious cuts to their benefits. In order to make sure that doesn't happen, we need to enact legislation that puts them on a path to being financially secure.
Source: 2014 Ore. Senate campaign website, www.MonicaForOregon.com
Mar 18, 2014
Paul Romero:
Bearish investment of Trust funds to bolster our markets
Q: How would you guarantee Social Security benefits for future generations?A:
- Social Security funds MUST be returned to a protected Trust where it originally started and not be available for Congress to leave IOU's they don't intend on
repaying.
- The lack of a balanced budget and movement of Social Security funds into the General fund has created an environment where Congress has abused funds for a variety of pork ear marks outside of the Constitution and Federal boundaries.
This needs [to be] reversed.
- Better investment, Bearish investment, is where these funds should be placed which will bolster our markets and grow the fund.
-
Continue the Social Security program but under its own management with external monthly inspections by the Treasury, CBO, Legislative and Executive Branches.
Source: AFA iVoterGuide on 2020 Oregon Senate race
Nov 3, 2020
Tina Kotek:
Reduced pension contribution for long-term solution
The retirement plan has two parts: a basic pension and a savings account akin to a 401(k). Lawmakers voted to reduce the amount of money going to the savings account. "While there is no perfect solution, we needed to address the rising rate costs that
threaten public employee jobs and critical services," Kotek said. "Reducing these rates will result in real savings that will give public employees long-term protection for their retirement security and maintain services that Oregonians rely on."
Source: Portland Tribune on 2022 Oregon Gubernatorial race
May 30, 2019
Tobias Read:
Created first opt-out retirement plan in the country
Q: What's something significant you've delivered?A: Oregon Saves, which is the first opt-out retirement plan in the country. It provides a plan for folks in the private sector who don't otherwise have an option to save for retirement.
The process of passing that into law had a lot of twists and turns. It's indicative of the style that I would bring to the governor's office.
Source: Willamette Week on 2022 Oregon Gubernatorial race
Oct 27, 2021
Page last updated: Feb 07, 2026