McCain receives almost $2,000 of "absolute disgrace" each month
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
By Amy Weiss
Sen. John McCain doesn't seem to be hesitant to accept Social Security checks, paid for by the taxes of current workers, the very thing he calls an "absolute disgrace." He received approximately $1,930 per month last year in social security benefits.
McCain apparently told campaign reporters: "I'm receiving benefits," but added, "the system is broken and, unfortunately, my children and grandchildren, according to the trustees of the Social Security system, will not have the same benefits the present retirees have."
McCain receives a yearly Senate salary of over $165,000 and his wife, Cindy, made $6 million in 2006, bringing her net worth to approximately $100 million. (So it's unlikely his children and grandchildren will have to worry.)
Clearly the McCains do not financially rely on the $23,000 in Social Security he receives each year, so why doesn't he make a statement by not participating in a system he considers so disgraceful?
"An individual does have the right to refuse his/her Social Security retirement benefit," Social Security Administration official B.J. Jarrett explained. Then, he effectively answered the question why McCain wouldn't or shouldn't opt out: "However, Social Security is an entitlement program and an individual would essentially be forfeiting a benefit based upon contributions during his/her working lifetime."
Those contributions made over a lifetime and paid back are the foundation of the system that has worked for 70+ years. McCain paid for the benefits of the generation before him and now he's receiving it back.
Obviously, the system needs reform and how to do it is debatable. But if McCain has a solution to fix social security, he must be keeping it a secret. McCain has no "Social Security" option on his "Issues" menu on his campaign Web site. On his "Economy" page, he has one paragraph:
He will fight to save the future of Social Security while meeting our obligations to the retirees of today and the future without raising taxes. John McCain supports supplementing the current Social Security system with personal accounts -- but not as a substitute for addressing benefit promises that cannot be kept. He will reach across the aisle, but if the Democrats do not act, he will. John McCain will not leave office without fixing the problems that threatens our future prosperity.
Sharon O'Brien said in the Senior Living report on About.com:
Figuring out McCain's position on privatizing Social Security isn't as easy as you might expect. McCain's public statements on privatization are often contradictory, appearing to place him firmly on both sides of the issue.
While campaign Web site summaries of issues can often be vague and uninformative, at least Obama dedicates a whole page to "Seniors and Social Security" and actually mentions concrete possible solutions and goals:
Obama believes that the first place to look for ways to strengthen Social Security is the payroll tax system. Currently, the Social Security payroll tax applies to only the first $102,000 a worker makes. Obama supports increasing the maximum amount of earnings covered by Social Security and he will work with Congress and the American people to choose a payroll tax reform package that will keep Social Security solvent for at least the next half century.
Maybe it's unreasonable to expect McCain to reject social security, but then it's also unreasonable for him to call it a disgrace and offer only "personal savings accounts" as the most constructive solution to fix that disgrace.
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT
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