Rand Paul on Social Security " “I don’t know anything other than to tell the truth”

[LatinsforPaul]

Time: Rand Paul Tells Seniors He Would Change Social Security

“I’m not gleefully jumping up and down about raising the age. It’s not very popular,” Paul said. But, he said, the current system is not tenable and an older retirement age could fix two-thirds of the funding crisis. “We’re all talking about the next generation,” Paul said.

He also said doctors too easily give patients seeking disability payments the sign-off. “The incentive is to say yes,” the eye surgeon said, noting the patients are customers who pay. “For every one of those (who are disabled), there are one or two who aren’t really disabled.”

That fraud is also draining the Social Security programs, Paul argued. ”We have to police the system better. We can’t be everything to everyone or there’s not going to be enough money in the Social Security fund,” he said.

His fix? An independent doctor. “To get disability, I think you should have to go to a doctor you don’t know and who you’ve never seen before to have an independent judgment of it.”

Before he even left the front of the senior center auditorium, Paul joked that his advisers had warned him to stay away from Social Security programs. “You’re crazy. You’re going to a senior center and you’re telling them the age has to go up,” he chuckled. Of course, he did not heed them.

Asked after the event about the move, Paul said he didn’t want to pander. “I don’t know anything other than to tell the truth,” he said. “I’m not telling people here that they’re going to have a problem.”

[randomname]

I really wish politicians could get elected this way... but I don't know of any that has?

[sparebulb]

It would be far more principled to $#@!-can SS than to continue to screw the next generation through crippling taxation during their working years for less benefit.

Once again,

Rand < Ron

[dannno]

It would be far more principled to $#@!-can SS than to continue to screw the next generation.

Once again,

Rand < Ron

I don't think Rand disagrees at all, but he is presenting it in pieces first. In the short-term we need to raise the age and have means testing (Ron and Rand both have this in their plan). The next step that Ron took was to allow younger people to opt-out of the SS system, which he believed would make SS go away over time. I don't think Rand has any problem with that plan, either. But the bottom line is you can't have the younger people opt-out without first addressing some of the issues like age requirements and means testing.

[ChristianAnarchist]

I really wish politicians could get elected this way... but I don't know of any that has?

Ron Paul...

[Krugminator2]

It would be far more principled to $#@!-can SS than to continue to screw the next generation through crippling taxation during their working years for less benefit.

Once again,

Rand < Ron

That is not Ron's position. Ron is terrible on this issue. He is not better than Rand on this or even libertarian on this issue. http://www.nationalreview.com/articl...ert-verbruggen

Ron would allow people to opt out under a certain age and continue to pay benefits to current recipients and people over a certain age. That is kind of problem because these programs are ponzi schemes. The math used to work because economic growth and population growth outpaced the benefits. Now people are living longer, having fewer children. and there are more elderly recipients because baby boomers started getting benefits. If you allow people to opt, that might solve the problem 40 years down the road. It leaves a huge gap in funding until then

[sparebulb]

I don't think Rand disagrees at all, but he is presenting it in pieces first. In the short-term we need to raise the age and have means testing (Ron and Rand both have this in their plan). The next step that Ron took was to allow younger people to opt-out of the SS system, which he believed would make SS go away over time. I don't think Rand has any problem with that plan, either. But the bottom line is you can't have the younger people opt-out without first addressing some of the issues like age requirements and means testing.

SS is an intractable program.

Rand, and everyone else, is unlikely to come up with anything that will make me happy.

[Joeinmo]

It would be far more principled to $#@!-can SS than to continue to screw the next generation through crippling taxation during their working years for less benefit.

Once again,

Rand < Ron

Ron's not running, it's like talking about Jefferson or Washington, Rand is the best to get from point A to point B

[65fastback2+2]

I don't think Rand disagrees at all, but he is presenting it in pieces first. In the short-term we need to raise the age and have means testing (Ron and Rand both have this in their plan). The next step that Ron took was to allow younger people to opt-out of the SS system, which he believed would make SS go away over time. I don't think Rand has any problem with that plan, either. But the bottom line is you can't have the younger people opt-out without first addressing some of the issues like age requirements and means testing.

This...you arent going to get anyone to be ok with dropping grandma and grandpa into poverty tomorrow by canning it.

It is going to take small rollbacks over many generations to ween society off of it to where you can cancel the ponzi scheme