Why does Social Security need reform? Carrie Lukas from the Independent Women's Forum gave these headlining reasons in a speech in 2004 entitled "Why Women Need Social Security Reform:"
Seniors are a growing portion of the population: In 1950, just 8.5% of the
population was over age 65. Today, seniors account for 12.4%; by 2050, they will
be nearly 21%.This means that each young worker must shoulder a greater cost of providing for Social Security beneficiaries. In 1960, there were 5 workers paying taxes to support each retiree. Today, there are just over 3. By 2050, when today’s teenagers are getting ready to retire, there will be just 2 workers supporting each retiree.
As a result, the amount of money that each worker will have to pay to
maintain Social Security benefits is going to skyrocket. Already, most Americans
already pay more in Social Security taxes than they do in income taxes. Social Security claims 12.4% of each paycheck. By 2040, if nothing is Social Security is not reformed, workers will have to pay 18% of their paychecks or nearly 1 out of every 5 dollars they earn just to support Social Security.
(you can find a lot of great research on Social Security at IWF here, or at Americans for Prosperity here)
So where do the remaining presidential candidates, on both sides of the political aisle, stand on Social Security reform?
John McCain - His website doesn't list Social Security as an issue unto itself, but if you dig deep enough, you find a reference to Social Security lumped in with other entitlement reform. Not bad, but does he support private accounts?
Mitt Romney - Again, no separate reference, and he only calls for entitlement reform in general terms.
Mike Huckabee - No separate reference, but under his Taxes headline, Huckabee states his purpose pretty clearly right off the bat (quoting from his website): I am running to completely eliminate all federal income and payroll taxes. And I do mean all - personal federal, corporate federal, gift, estate, capital gains, alternative minimum, Social Security, Medicare, self-employment.
Ron Paul - Social Security gets it's own headline on his issues page and a page unto itself! I'll just quote directly from Dr. Paul himself: We must also address the desire of younger workers to save and invest on their own. We should cut payroll taxes and give workers the opportunity to seek better returns in the private market.
Hillary Clinton - She hasn't spoken out on the issue, though Students for Saving Social Security is taking her to town over it. She has, however, slammed her Democrat opponents for their proposals to increase payroll taxes to "fix" the Social Security system.
Barack Obama - Obama's got "Seniors and Social Security" on his issues list, and has stated publicly that he won't support privatization; it's clear from his position statement that his intent is to "beef up" Social Security and not change the system per se. He does propose eliminating income taxes on seniors making less than $50,000 a year.
John Edwards - In the South Carolina debate, Edwards reiterated that he does not support privatization, changes to the retirement age, nor will he cut benefits. His website doesn't tell us, but it does give his extensive position on eliminating or easing debt.
Social Security reform has been referred to as the "third rail" of politics, the one thing a politician doesn't go near unless he's commiting professional suicide. It is clear, though, now that baby boomers are collecting benefits, that we need reform and quickly. This is not something we can afford to wait on - and a serious presidential candidate would address that now and while in office.
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