McCain Would Privatize Social Security

Both of the presidential candidates were discussing social security yesterday. But while one candidate made a solemn promise to protect social security, the other tried to talk out of both sides of his mouth -- he wants to have his cake and eat it too.

Barack Obama promised a Washington gathering of AARP that he would not cut cost-of-living adjustments, raise the retirement age or try to privatize social security, but warned them that McCain would probably try to do all three.

McCain then spoke to the same group through a satellite link and denied he wanted to change social security. He said, "We're not going to privatize it. It is a government function to provide for those who have worked and earned and saved all their lives."

But then he went on to say, "But we want to give, if we can, younger workers the option of taking some of their own money and the option to put it into an account with their name on it." That is like saying he doesn't want to score a touchdown, he just wants to cross the goal line carrying the football -- it makes no sense.

Young people, and everyone else, can already put some money into a retirement account with their name on it. It's called a 401K account. But's that's not what McCain is talking about. He wants to use money earmarked for social security to create the account, and that's called PRIVATIZATION.

It doesn't stop being privatization just because you're afraid to use that word to describe it. This is the same Republican scheme to destroy social security that Bush tried to get passed -- until the American people shot it down. McCain is now trying to sneak it by the voters by refusing to use the "P" word.

Don't listen to McCain's lies and half-truths. The only way to protect social security is to vote Democratic in the coming election.