Obama, McCain Parry On Social Security

Dem Tells AARP That Republican Candidate Would Undermine Program; McCain Says He Is Against Privatization

(AP)  Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama criticized Republican John McCain's approach to Social Security on Saturday, saying it would undermine the government program aimed mainly at retirees. McCain said he would preserve Social Security.

Both candidates spoke via satellite to a gathering of the AARP, the nation's largest group of older Americans.

Obama said McCain's campaign has suggested trimming Social Security benefits, raising the eligibility age and privatizing a portion of the program.

"Privatizing Social Security was a bad idea when George Bush proposed it, and it's a bad idea today," Obama said.

He also said that McCain has called the way Social Security works "an absolute disgrace." McCain has said he meant that it was disgraceful that young workers might eventually receive fewer benefits than current retirees.

McCain said repeatedly that he did not favor privatization of Social Security.

"I'm committed to protecting and preserving Social Security," he said. "I will protect and preserve it. I won't hand it off to an unluckier generation - a system that is broken."

He said that in seeking a solution, he would be guided by some basic principles: not to raise taxes and to insure that retirees and workers close to retirement would not be affected by any changes. "There may be a role for private investment accounts for younger workers as long as they are not a substitute for insuring the solvency of the system and does not affect the system," McCain said.

McCain said he would bring Democrats and Republicans together to find an answer, much like President Ronald Reagan and the late House Speaker Thomas O'Neill did in the early 1980s with a commission that strengthened Social Security's solvency for many years. He referred to Reagan as a liberal but quickly corrected himself to say conservative.

"Every day we delay the more radical the fix has to be," McCain said.

Asked how he would save Social Security, protect workers' pensions and at the same time help Americans save, McCain audibly sighed and said, "It's a very tough problem."

All workers pay Social Security payroll taxes on the first $102,000 of their annual income. The money pays for benefits for current retirees and for other government programs. Analysts say the program will begin running short of funds in a few decades if it is not changed.

Obama cited his proposals to place a new Social Security payroll tax on incomes above $250,000 and to eliminate federal income taxes for older people making less than $50,000 a year. He also said he would "allow the government to negotiate with drug companies to lower costs for seniors, and we'll allow reimportation of drugs from other countries and ensure their safety."

The Wall Street Journal reported in March that McCain's top aides were "considering cost-of-living adjustment cuts and raising the retirement age as part of their Social Security plan." McCain has not endorsed or rejected those ideas.


The AP's White House Correspondent Terence Hunt reported from Colorado Springs, Colo.

[bhappy2-2]

Obama admits McCain "has not talked about my Muslim faith".

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/?pageId
=74635

[robert6781]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrATS6o95
BI&feature=related

Obama''''s brother proves Obama is a Muslim with photo. See link above.

I''m not the one who is "stupid" skyk. LOL

[skyk-2009]

As a Hillary Democrat, I am THRILLED to see that Obama is trailing McCain.

I will NEVER forgive him for trashing Hillary and Prez Clinton..... and how DARE him not to vet Hillary as VP even though Hillary won MORE votes than he did.

I want him to LOSE!!!!

Party Unity My A$$

Posted by metroduck75 at 07:35 AM : Sep 08, 2008

LOL Trailing him where?! LOL These polls do this EVERY election.. This is a three way race with MILLIONS of NEW voters, taking a poll of "Most Likely" Voters is about as important as taking the temp of a dead man! LOL But you hate so well and are so funny when it turns against you... keep it up! Obama 08

[skyk-2009]

American''s have got to understand that these Problems are NOT going to fix themselves. People who come to you with this, I will form a commission to study the problem are telling you they don''t have a solution nor the courage to get one. THEY simply want you to vote for them so they can do what Bush has done. When the PEOPLE of this nation told Bush in NO uncertain terms that HIS idea was a non starter suddenly it was just dropped, forgotten. Now McSame, after all those years in the senate comes out and wants to solve the problem by forming another study commission! Yeah right! Obama 08

[skyk-2009]

Still, Obama remains committed to making those who pay the most taxes pay even more taxes. Let%u2019s put that in other words too: raising taxes has nothing to do with the economy under the Obama plan and everything to do with wealth redistribution. Under the blathering, under the equivocation, under the confusion generated by the vague words, Obama is stating %u201CThis is socialism. Taxes are not about paying for the government, a cost that should be kept to a reasonable minimum so that Americans can manage their own money and keep the money growing. They are about punishing the rich, and redistributing wealth in America under the government aegis.%u201D


Posted by Robert6781 at 07:33 AM : Sep 08, 2008

What this loser is saying is he wants us to continue the Bush Economics even though it''s NEVER worked and even though the Obama plan, developed by Clinton, DID! If you are stupid enough to continue the failures we see before us every day, then YOU deserve to compete with 30 Cents a Day in Wages!! Obama O8

[metroduck75]

As a Hillary Democrat, I am THRILLED to see that Obama is trailing McCain.

I will NEVER forgive him for trashing Hillary and Prez Clinton..... and how DARE him not to vet Hillary as VP even though Hillary won MORE votes than he did.

I want him to LOSE!!!!

Party Unity My A$$

[betty2700635]

I don''t care who is the president,but I care who will take me money,by the way I have met many mature *** women on --B O O M E R C U P I D .COM/--boomercupid has become more and more populer for meeting mature men and women

[trrrorislami]

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OBAMA+CRACK COCAINE USE

IS HUSSEIN STILL A CRACKHEAD???

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=OBAMA CRACKHEAD

and the DEMONIC-RATS want him to be president???

[trrrorislami]

OMG HUSSEIN IS GAY AND WAS STILL ABUSING COCAINE,,,

no wonder he loves frisco,,, he misses his buddies behind,,,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUNEip42xsM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw2hc05HwPw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ13qyFup98

[gfuss2]

Hi all,
I''ll reply to ainttaken above.
Amen ainttaken.
This morn on cspan a speechwriter for Reagan (Judge Clark)said: "we can''''t ballance the ss fund on the back of General Revenue fund. Why??I ask. That''''s exactly what happened in reverse when in the middle of night yrs ago they passed the law that allowed the politicians, (both sides) to ballance General fund so as to slip in earmarks by the ton to take pork back home to get themselves re-elected. In other words using our retirement money to sponser their greedy ***** to re-elect themselves.Yes, We should now Fund the losses w/ general revenue fund from whence it (the losses) came. In other words --Pay the *** money back. Period

[gfuss2]

Hi all,
I need to reply to the "apparently" hardest working americans ever according to them?as per them above = blindhowlin & JT_Lancer above.
---------------------
I need some money because I work (3) jobs and don''t have any time left over to sleep. My rich uncle Sam seems to take all of my money for subsidising Big Oil. Big Insurance, Big Pharma, etc.
Congress says if we can drill more for oil in this country,it will help me & others aprox- 10 yrs from now!! Might save me 2 cents or so on each gal of gas then. Another need is for medical bills (ever mounting) because I need lots of different kinds of medicine ea. month. Don''t have any Health insurance either, can''t afford any because Congress needs me to pay BIG Premiums so the Big Insurance, & BIG Pharma Co''s, can have lots of money to help them get re-elected all the time. Get smart, pay attention & learn that we have one of the most corrupt Govt''s on the planet. I''m a Dem but loved Tricky *** & voted for him. That was of course before he got caught up in Watergate. Later people. Dwell on this for awhile.

[lucasnico]

Agreed. Just as we have done with Dems in power. Annual fed spending has increased EVERY year for the last 50 years.

To think that either party has any semblance of fiscal responsibility is laughable.

Posted by JT_Lancer

your boy bush was handed quite a surplus (by a Democratic President), and pissed it away

[trrrorislamh]

OMG HUSSEIN IS GAY AND WAS STILL ABUSING COCAINE,,,

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUNEip42xsM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uw2hc05HwPw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQ13qyFup98

[jt_lancer]

DaShortRound - ''When the bill comes due for the past 8 years of GOP "Borrow and Spend" fiscal policy, we are ALL going to be taking a HUGE hit in the wallet for many more decades to come.''

Agreed. Just as we have done with Dems in power. Annual fed spending has increased EVERY year for the last 50 years.

To think that either party has any semblance of fiscal responsibility is laughable.

[dashortround]

LOL - you didn''t read my post very closely. I said I took the $90,000 from selling my second home to buy this one. My equity is whatever the market value is.

Posted by Trapbreak at 02:03 PM : Sep 07, 2008

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Right now each $100K worth of "appraised" home value is actually worth about $63K in real life, on today''s market.

By next year it may only be worth half that.

When you can buy a house for $1 and invest whatever you want on improvements, who is going to pay $300K for a home appraised at 2007 values?

Only fools...

[dashortround]

I bought my 2nd house for $33,000, sold it to my oldest son for $90,000. Today that house is worth $300,000. Thank you President Eisenhower for that G.I. bill. I took that $90,000 and bought the house I live in now, and it too is worth $300,000. That is $600,000 in equity on a ZERO down V.A. loan.

Posted by Trapbreak at 01:22 PM : Sep 07, 2008

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

And by next year, or the year after, your "equity" may very well have shrunk back down to about $60,000 again - where it really belongs.

I sure hope your credit debt load isn''t too overextended right now, and that paying it all off doesn''t depend on eventually cashing in on all that imaginary "equity".

In a substantial number of cities and communities across America (the number is increasing by the day) you can actually buy a house for a mere $1 right now (no joke) if you simply promise to actually live in it yourself, and maintain it.

That''s what houses are really worth today, after 8 years of Bush and the GOP.

[obungler]

Those few that claim they ARE better off right now than they were 8 years ago don''''t seem to realize that had Bush not been elected, and had we not had a Republican Congress in charge for the past 13 years, they''''d probably be MUCH better off than they are RIGHT NOW.

Sadly, MOST people today are far worse off than they were 8 years ago.

When the bill comes due for the past 8 years of GOP "Borrow and Spend" fiscal policy, we are ALL going to be taking a HUGE hit in the wallet for many more decades to come.




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by DaShortRound at 01:08 PM : Sep 07, 2008

Well, sorry you didn''t prepare for it! I''ll still be FINE!

And so will my kids, because I taught them better than you did yours!

Fighting your enemies is not cheap in $''s or lives! As far as I''m concerned we could''ve done it the cheap way and just dropped a big load on the whole ME the morning after 911! Then would you have been HAPPY?

[obungler]

When I was a junior in high school my parents bought a new car for $1500.00. The first new car I bought cost me $15,000. Hint clue! - - Posted by OBungler

I bought my 2nd house for $33,000, sold it to my oldest son for $90,000. Today that house is worth $300,000. Thank you President Eisenhower for that G.I. bill. I took that $90,000 and bought the house I live in now, and it too is worth $300,000. That is $600,000 in equity on a ZERO down V.A. loan.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by Trapbreak at 01:22 PM : Sep 07, 2008

:)

[dashortround]

Those few that claim they ARE better off right now than they were 8 years ago don''t seem to realize that had Bush not been elected, and had we not had a Republican Congress in charge for the past 13 years, they''d probably be MUCH better off than they are RIGHT NOW.

Sadly, MOST people today are far worse off than they were 8 years ago.

When the bill comes due for the past 8 years of GOP "Borrow and Spend" fiscal policy, we are ALL going to be taking a HUGE hit in the wallet for many more decades to come.

[obungler]

When I was a junior in high school my parents bought a new car for $1500.00. The first new car I bought cost me $15,000. Hint clue!

Seems like nobody woke up and smelled the coffee!!!

To me, it meant that I was going to have to prepare three times more for living in the future than living in the NOW! Too many can''''t see past living in the NOW!


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by OBungler at 12:43 PM : Sep 07, 2008

NOW, buying a new car is like paying for half a new house!!!

Wakey! Wakey! People, are you planning on living another 20-30-40 years?

I see people living in slum houses, and brand new Chevy Avalanches sitting in their driveway! The Avalanche probably cost more than the HOUSE! And the value of it three or four years down the line will be ZIP!