Alabama Democratic Party

"This week has been a sobering reminder of just how dangerous McCain's plan to privatize Social Security is for Alabamians and all Americans," said Alabama Democratic Party Executive Director, Jim Spearman. "The price of everything from gas to groceries is sky-rocketing, the cost of health care is soaring, and paychecks don't go as far as they used to.  In the face of this economic insecurity, John McCain wants to risk our money and our retirement in the stock market just as he worked to remove the protections on Wall Street that led to this week's crisis. Nothing could more clearly illustrate how McCain's re-warmed Bush plan for privatization leaves Alabamians at risk when they can least afford it."

For more than 70 years, Social Security has helped keep retirees, surviving spouses and children and the disabled from poverty, yet McCain called Social Security "a disgrace" and wants to revive Bush's risky scheme to privatize Social Security, even as the failure of two of the top four remaining investment banks this Monday makes clear just how great a gamble privatizing Social Security would be. As all Americans are struggling economically, McCain would jeopardize the economic security of those Americans most affected by the failed Bush-McCain economy.

The Bush-McCain Social Security privatization scheme would blow a hole in the federal budget and end Social Security as Americans know it. Bush and McCain's gamble on Social Security would cost $1 trillion just initially, just to transition to private accounts. Their plan would endanger guaranteed benefits even as the economy continues to deteriorate, with job losses mounting and the cost of living, from groceries and energy to health care, spiraling out of control.
 
McCain has a long and unmistakable record of not just supporting but cheerleading privatization. In 2004, McCain claimed that Social Security could not be preserved for younger generations "without privatization." In 2005, McCain stumped with Bush in a failed attempt to sell their risky Social Security privatization scheme. In 2005 Americans rendered their judgment on the Bush-McCain plan to privatize Social Security - they said no. But now McCain's back with more of the same, even as the turmoil on Wall Street exposes just how risky his proposal would be for the millions of Americans who depend on or will depend on Social Security.

MCCAIN ON SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION

McCain Claims He Will Not Privatize Social Security, But Has "Long Record" Of Pushing For It. At a town hall in Pemberton, New Jersey, McCain said, "My friends, I do not and will not privatize Social Security."  However, according to a fact check from the Associated Press, "John McCain has long advocated letting workers divert some of their payroll taxes into private accounts," and his plan is characterized as "a partial privatization of the Social Security system." [CNN Live Feed, Town Hall (Pemberton, NJ), 6/13/2008; Associated Press, 6/13/2008]

July 2008: McCain Said Funding Of Social Security Was "A Disgrace."  During a town hall meeting in Denver, Colorado, McCain said of Social Security, "Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers in America today. And that's a disgrace. It's an absolute disgrace and it's got to be fixed" [CNN Live Feed, Town Hall Meeting (Denver, CO), 7/7/08]

'Pay-As-You-Go' System Has Been In Place Since 1937. McCain "appeared to take issue with the "pay as you go" mechanism the system has used since its inception in 1937, in which those working today pay for the benefits of those who have retired." [New York Times, 7/11/2008]

July 2008: McCain Said That "Nothing's Off The Table" As Far As Fixing Social Security Goes, Including A Payroll Tax Increase.  During an interview on ABC's "This Week," McCain was said of Social Security reform, "There is nothing that's off the table. I have my positions, and I'll articulate them. But nothing's off the table. I don't want tax increases. Of course I'd like to have young Americans have some of their money put into an account with their name on it. But that doesn't mean that anything is off the table." ["This Week," ABC, One-On-One Interview, 7/27/08]

Just Days Later, McCain: "I Am Opposed To Raising Taxes, Including Social Security Taxes."  During a town hall meeting in Racine, Wisconsin, McCain said that Senator Obama "wants to raise Social Security taxes. My position, and I am opposed to raising taxes, including Social Security taxes. Have no doubt about it." [CNN Live Feed, Town Hall (Racine, WI), 7/31/2008]

McCain Has Voted At Least 3 Times In Favor Of Social Security Privatization.  Since his election to the U.S. Senate in 1986, McCain has voted at least 4 times in favor of moving towards privatized Social Security. [2006 Senate Vote #68, 3/16/2006; 1998 Senate Vote #56, 4/1/1998; 1998 Senate Vote #77, 4/2/1998]

McCain Voted At Least 18 Times Against Protecting Social Security Trust Fund. Even after excluding his votes against the creation of a Social Security Lockbox, throughout his career in the House and the Senate, Senator McCain has voted at least 18 times against measures to protect the Social Security Trust Fund. [2004 Senate Vote #33; 2003 Senate Vote #201; 2000 Senate Vote #71, #56; 1999 Senate Vote #59; 1998 Senate Vote #222, #58; 1997 Senate Vote #15; 1996 Senate Vote #82; 1995 Senate Vote #578, #225, #215, #83, #82, #52; 1994 Senate Vote #47; 1988 Senate Vote #90; 1985 House Vote #351]

McCain Voted At Least 14 Times For Tax Cuts Instead Of Securing Future Of Social Security. Throughout his Congressional career, McCain has voted at least 14 times against prioritizing and protecting the future of Social Security if it meant removing tax cuts, usually for the upper income brackets. [2005 Senate Vote #47; 2003 Senate Vote #149, #147, #93, #58; 2001 Senate Vote #122, 145, 137; 2000 Senate Vote #198; 1999 Senate Vote #314, #236, #229, #228, #61]

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