TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Obama Camp Decries McCain's Support Of Plan

ADVERTISEMENT

By WILLIAM MARCH wmarch@tampatrib.com

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 15, 2008

SUN CITY CENTER As John McCain released new tax proposals Tuesday to help retirees, the Barack Obama campaign held meetings across Florida bashing McCain as willing to "gamble" with Social Security.

In Sun City Center, Obama's Florida policy director, Ian Bassin, criticized McCain's "apparent hostility toward the Social Security system" and said McCain is "intent on playing roulette with the system."

Bassin and supporter Larry Polivka of the Florida Policy Center on Aging focused on McCain's support for President George Bush's 2005 proposal for partial privatization of Social Security.

About two dozen retirees attended the gathering in Sun City Center, a GOP stronghold. There were seven other gatherings from Pensacola to South Florida, including one with U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer of California in Miami.

Bush proposed that younger workers be allowed to divert part of their Social Security taxes - also called payroll taxes - out of the program and into private accounts managed by the government and invested in the stock market.

The idea wasn't popular among Florida's elderly and got nowhere in Congress, even under the Republican majority at the time.

"If John McCain and George Bush had had their way, our Social Security would have dwindled on the market" just as many IRAs and 401(k) accounts have, Bassin said.

He cited a comment in July by McCain, who said the payroll-tax funding mechanism is "a disgrace" because taxes paid by today's workers are used to pay benefits for today's retirees. McCain said young workers may not get back all the taxes they pay in.

Doug Holtz-Eakin, a McCain senior adviser, called this a "disingenuous mischaracterization of the senator's position."

"He believes we must address fundamental solvency of Social Security and protect it for future generations," Holtz-Eakin said. "As part of comprehensive reform, younger workers should have the option of private accounts."

But Polivka said the system could pay full benefits for 30 years or more even with no changes, and small changes enacted now would make it sound for the indefinite future.

Obama proposes partially eliminating the ceiling on wages subject to payroll taxes. Right now, wages over $102,000 per year are not subject to Social Security taxation.

Holtz-Eakin called that "nowhere near enough to address the solvency issue."

Reporter William March can be reached at (813) 259-7761.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT