Bob Casey on Social Security Democratic Sr Senator (PA)

Stop these crazy proposals to put benefits in stock market

Casey's opponent, Republican Tom Smith, has said he'd let a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax expire in January. He wants taxpayers to be able to divert Social Security taxes into private investment accounts. Smith also says future Medicare beneficiaries should have the option of getting a government check to help buy private coverage.

Privatization drains money from guaranteed benefits

A: I oppose Social Security privatization that drains away money from the Social Security system and would cut Social Security’s guaranteed benefits. The first step to protecting Social Security is to stop the assaults launched against Social Security by the privatization advocates. The next step is to get our fiscal house back in order and grow the economy. These two steps are necessary before considering any kind of changes in Social Security.

The crisis is privatization

CASEY: You need a step by step process. The best remedy for Social Security is economic growth.

Q: Something that’s approaching 70% of the budget, you’re going to grow your way out of it?

CASEY: That’s only part of it. We repeal that tax cut for the top 1%, that’s part of it.

Q: But we’re talking about Social Security.

CASEY: I don’t agree with your premise. I don’t think you’re talking about a crisis. The crisis is privatization.

SANTORUM: That’s no answer.

CASEY: I had a much better answer than yours, because your so-called guarantee is what The Philadelphia Inquirer called “snake oil.” His proposal is to privatize. His proposal drains a trillion dollars out of the trust fund. They’re draining it right now, to pay for those tax cuts for the wealthy that you supported. That’s the wrong policy for Social Security and for the economy.

Opposes Social Security privatization

Voted NO on establishing reserve funds & pre-funding for Social Security.

1. require that the Federal Old Age and Survivors Trust Fund be used only to finance retirement income of future beneficiaries;
2. ensure that there is no change to benefits for individuals born before January 1, 1951
3. provide participants with the benefits of savings and investment while permitting the pre-funding of at least some portion of future benefits; and
4. ensure that the funds made available to finance such legislation do not exceed the amounts estimated to be actuarially available.

Proponents recommend voting YES because:

Perhaps the worst example of wasteful spending is when we take the taxes people pay for Social Security and, instead of saving them, we spend them on other things. Even worse than spending Social Security on other things is we do not count it as debt when we talk about the deficit every year. So using the Social Security money is actually a way to hide even more wasteful spending without counting it as debt. This Amendment would change that.

Opponents recommend voting NO because:

This amendment has a fatal flaw. It leaves the door open for private Social Security accounts by providing participants with the option of "pre-funding of at least some portion of future benefits."

This body has already closed the door on the President's ill-conceived plan for private Social Security accounts. The opposition to privatization is well-known:
• Privatizing Social Security does nothing to extend the solvency of the program.
• Transition costs would put our Nation in greater debt by as much as $4.9 trillion.
• Creating private accounts would mean benefit cuts for retirees, by as much as 40%.
• Half of all American workers today have no pension plan from their employers. It is critical that we protect this safety net.

Rated 96% by ARA, indicating a pro-Trust Fund stance.

Scoring system for 2014: Ranges from 0% (supports privatization and other market-based reforms) to 100% (supports keeping federal control over Trust Fund and Social Security system).

About ARA (from their website, www.RetiredAmericans.org):

The Alliance for Retired Americans is a nationwide organization, founded in May 2001, with now over 4.2 million members working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics, and institutions that shape our lives. The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security.

• Alliance members visit the polls in record numbers. We use the power of our membership and our Congressional Voting Record to educate and mobilize seniors to elect leaders committed to improving the lives of retirees and older Americans.
• We are effectively warding off cuts to our most important social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Our Human Chain Against the Chained CPI events in the summer of 2013 took place in more than 50 cities and mobilized support for stopping this cut to earned Social Security benefits.
• We blocked the privatization of Social Security with our Social Security "Truth Truck" delivering 2.1 million petitions to Members of Congress and other tactics.
• The Alliance makes its voice heard on the issues that matter not just to current retirees, but to all Americans who hope to retire one day. We were a leading voice in recent debates considering changes to Medicare, like replacing guaranteed benefits with a voucher system, and remain so in 2014.