Democratic debate at Pace University: on Social Security
Carol Moseley-Braun:
Our children must have same security as us
Q: What is your position on raising the retirement age? MOSELEY-BRAUN: If we are actually going to accept our generation's responsibility, that's going to mean that we give our children no less retirement security than we inherited from our parents.
To me, that means keeping Social Security safe, that means not raising the retirement age, that means not putting on additional restrictions that would give people less upon which to fall back and retire than we inherited.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
Dennis Kucinich:
Privatization is off the table-I'll block it
First of all, the Social Security money belongs to Main Street, not to Wall Street. It needs to be said very clearly here that privatization is off the table. There will be no privatization when I'm elected president. I'll block any effort.
Social Security, as a matter of fact, is a better investment now than the stock market. There's a higher return. There's guaranteed cost-of-living increases. Privatization you have to worry about the value of your account.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
Dennis Kucinich:
Return retirement age to 65-we're solid thru 2041
People are retiring earlier. They're retiring at age 62. And so we ought to take the retirement age back to 65, take the retirement age back to 65. The money is there. Right now, the Bush administration is using the surplus to finance tax cuts for the
wealthy. I'm saying that Social Security right now, the retirement age ought to go back to age 65. Look at the record, look at the trust fund, it's solid through the year 2041, get that money back to workers who are retiring earlier.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
Dick Gephardt:
Don't raise retirement age over 67
Q: People now live longer and they work longer than they did when the retirement age was set at age 65. So why not raise it? GEPHARDT: Well, I was a leader of the effort in 1983 to make sure Social Security was sound out into the future.
And as part of that legislation, we raised the retirement age--and that's in the law today--to 67. I'm not for taking it higher than that. I think we really create problems for people if we do that.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
Howard Dean:
Considered raising retirement age to 70-now keep it at 67
Q: What is your position on raising the retirement age? DEAN: We shouldn't do it. You know, Dick Gephardt considered means testing Social Security and Medicare both, something that I have never considered. I considered raising the Social Security age
possibly to 70, possibly to 68. I've rejected that. I think Dick has since rejected means testing Social Security. So my view is, we do not need to raise the retirement age above 67. We do not need to means test Social Security or Medicare.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
John Edwards:
Keep stock market out of Social Security
Q: Can the stock market be a component of the Social Security retirement system? EDWARDS: No, I don't believe it can. I think we have to do a number of things.
One is, in order to lengthen the financial viability of Social Security, the single most important thing is to get away from this deficit spending that this president has put us in and move back to fiscal responsibility.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
John Edwards:
Federal match for every dollar put into savings
We have a train wreck coming. We have the onslaught of the baby boomers coming. We have government that's in deficit, getting deeper into deficit. What we ought to do is help people save.
We have one of the worst private savings rates in the world. I would match dollar for dollar the savings of middle-income families to allow them to save privately to help us address this problem.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
John Kerry:
Guarantee Social Security soundness, even if unpopular
Q: As president, what would be the least popular, most right thing you would do?
KERRY: Young people don't believe that Social Security will be there for them. I intend to take the politics out of how we are going to guarantee that Social Security is sound into the future. And that requires leadership.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
Wesley Clark:
Protect Social Security system to ensure senior income
I'm a believer in Social Security. I think you need to protect that system, I think you need to put the resources into it, I think you need to assure that it's solvent. And I'll tell you why. -
First, it's right. It's right because when people work in this country, the wealthiest country in the world, they have a right to be assured that in their elderly years they will have a minimum standard of income.
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Secondly, I think it's good business practice, because in the economy we're facing in the future, we want people to move between jobs and job, we want people to move between skill and skill.
We want them to have retirement security, so they can take a chance.
For both reasons, we need to sustain Social Security.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan
Wesley Clark:
Stock market is for individuals, not for Social Security
Q: Do you find an appropriate role for stock market investments in the Social Security retirement program? Would you allow an individual's being able to invest? CLARK: I think it's great if individuals invest in the stock market,
but not as a substitute for ensuring the solvency of Social Security. We're going to get Social Security right first. And then, we're going to put in place the measures so that individuals can save and invest on top of Social Security.
Source: Debate at Pace University in Lower Manhattan