• Home
  • News
    • Politics & Government
    • Business & Economy
    • Crime / Courts
    • Health / Medicine
  • Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Radio Iowa Poll
  • Affiliates
    • Affiliate Support Page
  • Contact Us
    • Reporters

Radio Iowa

Iowa's Radio News Network

You are here: Home / News / Gingrich calls Social Security “social program of enormous power”

Gingrich calls Social Security “social program of enormous power”

November 21, 2011 By O. Kay Henderson

While Republican presidential Rick Perry has called Social Security an unconstitutional “Ponzi Scheme.” rival Newt Gingrich says Social Security serves a “unique” purpose for elderly Americans, although Gingrich is proposing changes that would allow younger workers to invest their Social Security taxes in private accounts.

“It is a long-term program to enable people to know that in their older years they’re not going to starve…they’re not going to be homeless,” Gingrich says. “….I don’t agree with people who attack Social Security. This has been a social program of enormous power. It has improved the lives of virtually every senior citizen in this country. You go back to 1935 and you look at what was happening to people who were 65 and 70 years old and now you look at how much better off they are.”

Gingrich would allow younger workers to invest half their Social Security taxes in a private account, but keep the portion paid by employers in the system. “But I’d make it an option,” Gingrich says. “I would not go in and eliminate Social Security.” 

Under the half-and-half plan Gingrich proposes, half the Social Security taxes for an individual worker could be deposited in a private account. The other half, paid by an employer or by the individual if they’re self-employed, would still be paid into the Social Security system.

“If you want to take a personal savings account model and you think it works better for you, we would keep the minimum payment Social Security level as your fallback,” Gingrich says, “so if something really went totally wrong, we would guarantee you the minimum in Social Security.” 

Gingrich also downplays the idea Social Security soon will be insolvent. An improved national economy will solve much of the problem according to Gingrich.

“You go down from nine percent unemployment to four (percent), all those people start paying their Social Security tax, you really beef up the Social Security Trust Fund which helps it stabilize out 35, 40 years,” Gingrich says. “And if you have a relatively stable Trust Fund for 35 or 40 years, you know for most of us (I mean, I’m 68) I think if we make it 40 years (at 108 I’ll come back and chat with you about it) that’s a pretty powerful building block.”

Gingrich made his comments during a 20-minute interview organized by AARP. The full interview is available via Mediacom’s on-demand channel.  Three other GOP candidates also taped interviews which are part of the “Video Voters Guide” AARP produced and made available through Mediacom cable systems.

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: News, Politics / Govt Tagged With: elderly, Iowa Caucuses, Republican Party

Featured Stories

Testing finds 21 new CWD cases in deer

It may become a crime in Iowa to use fake urine in workplace drug tests

February trending 18 degrees below average temperature

Iowa House Education Committee votes to end tenure at UI, ISU, UNI

Man convicted of two Muscatine County murders dies in prison

TwitterFacebook
Tweets by RadioIowa

Key stretch begins for #9 Iowa

Drake’s Roman Penn lost for the season

Drake’s DeVries named to Naismith watch list

State wrestling opens with limited attendance

Iowa’s Wieskamp is B1G Player of the Week

More Sports

eNews and Updates

Enter your email address:

Delivered by FeedBurner

Archives

Copyright © 2021 · Learfield News & Ag, LLC