Ground Zero On Social Security
Florida - a key battleground in this presidential election - is a magnet for sun worshippers, from the young and chic to the rapidly growing legions of retirees.
Seniors are a powerful voting bloc in Florida, reports CBS News White House Correspondent John Roberts. Nearly one in three votes in the Sunshine state is cast by someone over the age of 60. And many of them, like Gabriel and Velma Cazares think Social Security works the way it is.
"Social Security for seniors will always be there if we take care of it as we should - and have in the past," said Velma Cazares.
A retired Air Force Colonel and former stockbroker, 80 year old Gabriel Cazares was mayor of Clearwater and is still politically active. His wife Velma, who's 66, has been on Social Security since her fifties after a series of heart surgeries left her disabled.
"The young people need to know how important Social Security and Medicare can be unless they have a crystal ball and know what's in their future," said Mrs. Cazares.
Craig Patrick is a 28-year-old public relations executive at Hydrogen Media, a "New Economy" business filled with young faces and desks filled with toys. He is convinced that he and his fiancee Susanna will never see the money they're putting into Social Security.
"Even the most optimistic projections I've seen have Social Security going bankrupt by the year 2037. Well, that's the year Susanna and I turn 65," he said.
Voters like Craig Patrick are embracing candidate Bush's proposal to privatize a part of Social Security. Bush wants to give workers the choice to invest part of their payroll taxes - almost 20 percent - in Wall Street. And the Texas governor says he would use the budget surplus to shore up Social Security as well as cut taxes. Bush would also consider raising the retirement age.
Democrat Al Gore says Bush's investment plan is too risky. Instead, the vice president wants to pay down the federal debt and use the interest saved to shore up Social Security. Gore would not raise the retirement age. And he's proposing a new federal 401k plan that would supplement Social Security.
Nationwide, a CBS News Poll shows 49 percent of voters think Gore would do a better job on Social Security, while 40 percent favored Bush.
Voters are divided over whether to invest some of their Social Security taxes. And there's an age gap: 50 percent of voters under 45 like the investment idea, 42 percent don't. But when you look at voters 65 and older: 34 percent like the idea, 55 percent are against investing in the market.
So it's no surprise that the Cazares have decided to vote for Al Gore. They say Social Security must be protected from the volatile stock market.
"The stock market can go up, but as a former stock broker I can tell you it can go down - and it's terrible when it does," said Gabriel Cazares.
Craig Patrick, on the other hand, s firmly in favor of Bush's investment plan.
"If you invest a portion of your payroll tax yourself, you will, if you make sound decisions, you will get a higher rate of return on it. There's no question about it," he said.