Retirees Demand the Truth from Senator McCain on Social Security

The Alliance for Retired Americans today called upon Senator John McCain to clarify his position on Social Security privatization, this in the wake of inconsistent statements and votes on the subject by Senator McCain.

In response to a town hall question posed by New Hampshire Alliance for Retired Americans President John Mendolusky, Senator McCain said, "I am not for quote 'privatization of Social Security.'  I never have been, never will be."  [Nashua Telegraph, June 13, 2008]

In a March 3 interview with the Wall Street Journal, Senator McCain said, "As part of Social Security reform, I believe that private savings accounts are a part of it -- along the lines that President Bush proposed."  The same article said that McCain is considering raising the Social Security retirement age to 68 and reducing the cost-of-living adjustment (COLA).

In 2006 he voted to shift Social Security's annual surpluses into a reserve account that would be converted into private accounts. [S. Con. Res., Vote #68, 3/16/06].  Earlier in his Senate career, McCain voted twice to replace Social Security's guaranteed benefits with income from risk-based private investments. [S. Con. Res., Vote #56, 4/1/98; S. Con. Res., Vote #77, 4/1/98]  

"Senator McCain's statement yesterday contradicts what he has said and done over the past decade," said Edward F. Coyle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Retired Americans, adding that, "times are getting harder than ever for retirees, particularly when the prices of health care, gasoline, and groceries keep going up.  This is no time to gamble away our hard-earned Social Security benefits on the roulette wheel of the stock market."