Retirement Insecurity

"You can't keep promises made to retirees." -Mr. Holtz-Eakin, Chief Economic Aide for the McCain campaign [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

Someone should tell John McCain and his staff that yes, you CAN keep promises made to retirees. Social Security and Medicare are programs that retirees depend upon for their very livelihood, and should never be jeopardized. However, with Mr. McCain in charge, retirement security will be a thing of the past.

_______________________________________________________

SOCIAL SECURITY

Senator McCain's plan to keep Social Security solvent:

1) Extend the retirement age to 68

2) Reduce cost-of-living adjustments

3) Privatize important aspects of the plan [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

McCain says Social Security is a Disgrace: Struggling homeowners will need Social Security and Medicare now more than ever, according to a new study by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.Given how many more of us will be dependent upon these key family programs, it’s too bad that just this week Sen. John McCain called Social Security a "disgrace". [AFL-CIO News Blog]

Retirees to McCain: Don't Destroy Social Security: Around the country seniors are greeting Senator McCain outside his destinations to ask him to explain his views on Social Security.  While McCain publically denies that he plans to privatize Social Security an interview with the Wall Street Journal he supported the idea.  [AFL-CIO News Blog]

Like Bush, McCain wants to privatize Social Security: Little has changed from his 2000 campaign to his current one. Senator McCain still wants to divert part of the Social Security payroll taxes into private accounts. This money would then be invested into the volatile market. This would reduce the amount that retirees collect from the government and would risk the money in the private accounts. Mr. McCain is willing to gamble with retirement security. [Wall Street Journal, 3/3/08]

Social Security Reserve Fund: In 2006, Senator McCain voted to move Social Security's annual surpluses into a reserve program that would be invested through risky private accounts. [SCR 83, Vote #68, 3/16/06]

Benefits: Senator McCain obviously does not consider the quality of services our aging population receives to be important as he supported a proposal to make deep benefit cuts in Social Security. [SCR 18, Vote #49, 3/15/05]

Taking Social Security funds from Seniors: In 2003, Senator McCain voted to use Social Security funds to pay off the federal debt, rather than allocating funds to the retirees who relied on them. [HJR 51, Vote #201, 5/23/03]

"The federal budget deficit hit a record $374.2 billion in 2003, the administration reported Monday, as the costs of the war in Iraq, a new round of tax cuts and economic weakness pushed the government's red ink to the highest level in history." [CBS News, 10/20/03]

John McCain supports the war in Iraq, has voted to make tax cuts for the wealthy permanent, and has no coherent and reasonable plan for our economy. With a president like this, the deficit will only increase, and then what's to stop McCain from trying to raid Social Security funds again?

Tax Cuts for the Wealthy or Social Security Benefits?: It is obvious that Mr. McCain caters to the wealthy few, rather than to all Americans. In a move that exemplifies where his priorities lie, he voted to keep tax cuts for the wealthy over creating a reserve system for Social Security, a program that helps all Americans upon their retirement. [HR 1836, Senate RPC, Vote #145, 5/22/01]

_______________________________________________________

MEDICARE

To keep Medicare solvent, Senator McCain has supported legislation that would:

1) Drastically cut benefits

2) Increase seniors' Medicare premiums

3) Raise the Medicare eligibility age

 

McCain voted to cut funding for Medicare: In 2005, Senator McCain voted to cut Medicare spending by $6.4 billion! This budget cut resulted in Medicare beneficiaries having to purchase some of their own medical equipment. It also led to cutting payments to home health providers, making seniors have to pay for these services out of their own pockets. [S. 1932, Vote # 363, 12/21/05]

McCain voted to have seniors pay more for their Medicare: Instead of protecting our senior citizens, Senator McCain voted against legislation intended to block steep increases in their Medicare premiums. This vote left the aging population vulnerable to rising health care costs. The Medicare costs increased because Congress decided to arbitrarily increase the Medicare payments to physicians. [S. 1932, Vote #287, 11/3/05]

McCain voted to increase the eligibility age: Senator McCain wanted to cut the number of seniors receiving Medicare by increasing the eligibility age from 65 to 67. This move shows how detached he is to the needs of retirees. Rather than considering the millions of seniors who would be cheated out of their healthcare benefits, Mr. McCain only cares about the numbers. [S. 947, Vote # 112, 6/24/97]

What about Union Retirees?: In 2002, Senator McCain voted against a proposal that would give temporary health insurance benefits to the retirees of bankrupt steel companies. John McCain is both anti-union and against protecting the rights of our seniors, so this vote came as no surprise. [S. Amdt. 3433, Vote #117, 5/21/02]

_______________________________________________________