May 22, 2007

Presidential Candidates On Social Security -- Republicans

Here are the views of the top tier Republican candidates for President, as gleaned from various websites:

Rudolph Giuliani
Giuliani agreed that long-term costs and solvency are an issue and that private accounts should be part of the solution, adding that "people should have some choice" in how their accounts are handled.
John McCain:
...supports giving workers the option to set aside a small fraction of their Social Security contributions to be conservatively invested in retirement funds. These accounts would not be so large that they overshadow the existing system, nor would it threaten promised benefits in any way. They would simply supplement the design of the current system to give younger workers greater retirement security. Most importantly, they would act as a lock box to protect the Social Security surpluses Congress raids every year
Mitt Romney
Romney won’t propose changes in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid — the government entitlement programs that are growing at unsustainable rates — but instead will press for all sides to come to the bargaining table ...