Here's A Little Straight Talk, My Friends -- John McCain Hates Social Security
Sen. John McCain, I'm one of your friends, right? The kind of friend who can handle some of your special brand of Straight Talk™.
So why won't you just tell me you hate Social Security?
Twice this week you lambasted the founding principle of Social Security, that, as you described, "we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today." In separate appearances, you called the way Social Security has been structured for more than 70 years an "absolute disgrace," and a "broken" system.
Twice! You even called that pronouncement "Straight Talk™." That's no slip of the tongue. You must mean it.
So why did you backtrack yesterday when asked about it from reporters? Instead of saying that you hate the founding principle of Social Security, you revised your remarks: "They are paying into a system that they won't receive benefits from on the present track that it's on -- that's the point."
That's not even Straight Talk™! As the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities explained after the last Social Security trustees report, "Social Security is structurally sound and does not require drastic changes."
While I thought we were friends, this sadly hasn't been the first time this year where you didn't give me Straight Talk™ on Social Security.
You told the Wall Street Journal in March that you support President Bush's earlier proposal to partially privatize Social Securtiy, saying, "As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it -- along the lines that President Bush proposed." When the Journal pointed out your website said something different, you promised to change the website.
You still haven't! And do you know how hard it is to even find the two sentences describing your Social Security position on your website? It's not even mentioned under your "Issues" menu on the homepage. You just said "Americans have got to understand" what a "disgrace" the program is. How can they if your website won't tell them?!
Most importantly, why did you tell the Wall Street Journal that you support "private savings accounts?" Why bother with the Karl Rove/Frank Luntz poll-tested phrases? That's not Straight Talk™! Say what you really mean, "privatization!" That's what you did in 2004.
After being asked if "privatizing Social Security [would] be a priority for you moving forward," you responded, "Without privatization, I don't see how you can possibly, over time, make sure that young Americans are able to receive Social Security benefits."
Yet, last month, you pretended you never said that, telling voters at a town hall, "I'm not for, quote, privatizing Social Security. I never have been. I never will be."
What is it about Social Security that makes you allergic to Straight Talk™? Are you worried about keeping one of your few leads in the polls, among seniors?
I'm sure if you told seniors that you hate Social Security, always have and always will, they'd understand.
Maybe they wouldn't vote for you, but at least you could still be friends.
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I hope the Dems replay, over and over, a clip of the hundred millionaire talking about the "disgraceful" social security system in retirement communities across the country, especially in places like Florida and his home state.
Very simple, basic outlook of the GOP. They loath anything that is even called 'social', to them it smacks of socialism, they think it is the democrats word for the dreaded 'communism'. They have never gotten past the breakup of the USSR.
The repugs want to do away with all social programs, constantly attacking ss, cutting medicare, gutting medicare funds with the prescription drug program that was written by the pharmaceuticals. They hate children school lunch programs, they cut medicaid funds, they cut veterans health care funds, they cut education etc etc etc.
This is the repug McCain we have come to know and turn away from!
Folks McCain has a plan. With no social security most old people (exception McCain with his wifes millions.) we be destitute. They will be reduced to scrounging for cans, bottles and newspapers to recycle for change. See where I'm going? This is a win-win. No taxpayer money to social security and gramps and grams help cleanup and recycle! Plus with all the exercise they get rummaging around and walking-they will get allot more exercise then the more sedentary old people of today.
No Social Security = Tax Savings + Cleaner Environment + Healthier Old People
McCain 2008!
So John McCain thinks it's improper to have young employed people paying for the retirement of older people who had paid for the retirement of other older people before retiring.
But it must be just fine with him that people who haven't been born yet and their children, grandchildren will have to pay for the war in Iraq that Mr. McCain and his GOP ilk apparently love so much.
His idea of "privatizing" Social Security is blatantly unconstitutional, but what cares he about out Constitution?
I hope the main plank of his campaign is to rid our glorious country of the scourge of Social Security!
I mean, look at how many Americans have been hurt by Social Security. ...Just look!
So McCain, you are on the right track with this. Grab that rail with all your might.
Every chance you get tell us how we are better off with out Social Security.
Now if you could get our wounded Vets off medical coverage...oh wait, you have been working on that.
- JOHN McCAIN HATES SOCIAL SECURITY (BECAUSE HE HAS HIS WIFE TO PAY FOR HIS RETIREMENT)
- JOHN McCAIN HATES THE IDEA OF EVERYONE BEING ABLE TO AFFORD HEALTH CARE (AFTER ALL HE HAS US THE TAX PAYERS PAYING FOR HIS HEALTH COVERAGE)
- JOHN McCAIN ALSO HATES THE MIDDLE CLASS, AND THE POOR, HE WOULD PREFER TO GIVE HIS RICH WIFE, AND HIS RICH FRIEND THE LARGE TAX CUTS, JOHN McCAIN THINKS THE MIDDLE CLASS, AND POOR SHOULD STOP WHINING, AND FEND FOR THEMSELVES.
- JOHN McCAIN ALSO HATES WOMEN, HE DOES NOT THINK WOMEN DESERVE TO BE PAID THE SAME AMOUNT AS A MAN.
the problem of course is that the republican party hates social security. Why? Because they serve corporations and the elite super rich in this country. Ultimately that is to ONLY constituency they really care about. They pretent to care about people of faith and the "working man" and they cater to racists and xenophobes, but really they don't care about those people at all. I'm sure George Bush couldn't give a damn how many women have abortions. But they need evangelicals and blue collar voters to get them into office, so they pander and pander and pander. But if you look at all of their economic policies of the last 30 years, they have all been in service to the one constituency they serve - corporate america and the super rich. This constituency (even the elderly in it) don't need or want social security and so the republican party would really love to just tell the other 99.9% of seniors that they need to "fend for themselves", except for the little inconvenient fact that these seniors actually vote. So, we get McCain wanting to say one thing, but being told by his advisors "don't scare the old folks before the election"
If the Bush administration Neocons hadn't gutted Social Security in an effort to justify their privatization scam... I mean scheme, Soc.Sec. wouldn't BE in the predicament that it finds itself right now.
Or you can go with the Bush administration incompetence factor. Social Security was just fine nine years ago...
What happened GW ?
You were the last one with it !!
More to follow. -ralph
How many of US understand that Social Security benefits
are paid out of current tax revenue, not even out of FICA
deductions. (Probably not that many.) McCain has said he
doesn't really understand economics. So, let the old guy
be confused already. Just don't let him be President.
But, in any event, he's just adding to the Big Lie, by
suggesting to those who would vote for him that Social
Security is just some sort of evil, communist-inspired scam,
just because it doesn't 'pay for itself' & never did.
They are NOT payed out of TAXES, they are payed out of FICA. In fact, that's why FICA taxes are as high as they are so that the baby boomers can have social security. They realized back in the early 80s that the boomers were such a large lump in the snake that their children wouldn't be numerous enough to pay for their retirement, so they created an increase in the percentage withheld (doubled it, actually the largest tax increase in history, and raygun made it happen!) so that the trust fund would have enough stored to weather the boom.
Of course since then raygun and his followers have forced the SS trust fund to loan the money to the GENERAL fund so that they could look like they had smaller deficits......
The official budget lists social security income and outgo separately from the rest of the budget, but they don't keep the actual money separate. FICA deductions go right into the general pot.
thanks bgregs...you nailed it. while we're on it, lets also not forget all the animosity towards the boomers and the problems subsequent generations will now have to keep SS in good health. Folks forget that the boomers contributed and still contribute mightily to SS.
McCain is finally starting to show his neocon roots. He and his brand of Republican's hate everthing that came out of the "New Deal". Seniors need to wake up and realize that Republican's would strip them of Social Security and Medicare benefits if they thought they could get away with it. Now he has his surrogate Gramm call us a nation of "whiners" because we are concerned about gas prices, food prices, falling value of our homes, falling value of our 401k's and IRA's, and elimination of social services. Gramm and McCain are the embodiment of rich folks who have nothing but disdain for the rest of us.
"...you promised to change the website."
in all fairness, he probably doesn't even know the URL to his website, how can you expect him to change it...
Does he really know what a website is???
We all know how politics works in the Information Age: 1) Send up Trial Balloon; 2) Take down Trial Balloon; 3) Send up Trial Balloon again; 4) Take Trial Balloon part of the way down; 5) Point out to others that Trial Balloon is still afloat; 6) Inch Trial Balloon a little farther up; 7) Have others point out that Trial Balloon seems to be gaining altitude; 8) Explain, in vague terms, how essential Trial Balloon is; 9) Explain, in even vaguer terms, how essential Trial Balloon is; 10) Note how many others see the value of Trial Balloon; 11) Report to the nation that Trial Balloon is a fait accompli; 12) Scrap unwanted program (in this case, Social Security); 13) Start a war.
I think we're at step 7 of this guaranteed 13-step program.
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