quotations about social security
The Social Security program is a pact between workers and their employers that they will contribute to a common fund to ensure that those who are no longer part of the work force will have a basic income on which to live. It represents our commitment as a society to the belief that workers should not live in dread that a disability, death, or old age could leave them or their families destitute.
JIMMY CARTER
speech, December 20, 1977
Social security is a social objective -- a social ideal. It envisages a structure of society in which each member enjoys the highest material well-being compatible with potential productive resources. Pathological social conditions -- continuous mass unemployment, unnecessary ill health, and accidents -- cannot be reconciled with social security. Social security is an ephemeral myth until such cancers are removed. The mere palliative provision of cash benefits is not enough.
S. ECKLER
"Modern Social Security Plans and Unemployment", International Labour Review, November 1943
The solution to the Great Social Security crisis couldn't be more obvious: Allow every American to dedicate some portion of their payroll taxes to a personal Social Security account that they could own and invest in stocks and bonds. Federal guidelines would make sure that your money is diversified, that it is invested in sound mutual funds or bond funds, and not in emu ranches. The national savings rate would soar and billions of dollars would be cycled from savings, to productive assets, to retirement money. And unlike the previous system, the assets in this retirement account could be left to one's heirs, used to start a business, or anything else one desires.
DONALD TRUMP
The America We Deserve
It is with great satisfaction that I have signed into law the Social Security Amendments of 1961. They represent an additional step toward eliminating many of the hardships resulting from old-age, disability, or the death of the family wage earner.... A Nation's strength lies in the well being of its people. The social security program plays an important part in providing for families, children, and older persons in time of stress, but it cannot remain static. Changes in our population, in our working habits, and in our standard of living require constant revision.
JOHN F. KENNEDY
speech, June 30, 1961
We do not believe that in this country freedom is reserved for the lucky, or happiness for the few. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, any one of us at any time may face a job loss, or a sudden illness, or a home swept away in a terrible storm. The commitments we make to each other through Medicare and Medicaid and Social Security, these things do not sap our initiative, they strengthen us. They do not make us a nation of takers; they free us to take the risks that make this country great.
BARACK OBAMA
Second Inaugural Address, January 21, 2013
In short, Social Security is riding a tiger that it dares not dismount. Since Social Security bulks so huge in our national life, America itself is riding that same tiger. The long-term economic and political rewards of dismounting--that is, publicly, officially dispelling the fals consciousness and radically reforming Social Security--are very high, but the short-term political risks of doing so are terrifying.... So we go on, deeper into the dark forest, clinging to the tiger's neck, half-fearing that that those reporting bones littering the ground are right, half-hoping the scoffers saying there is ample time for a hunter to arrive are right, spinning fantastic "reform" schemes for jumping off the tiger without getting mauled, and ending up doing nothing.
JOHN ATTARIAN
Social Security: False Consciousness and Crisis
This Nation must not break faith with those Americans who have a right to expect that Social Security payments will protect them and their families.... In the 34 years since the Social Security program was first established, it has become a central part of life for a growing number of Americans.... Almost all Americans have a stake in the soundness of the Social Security system.
RICHARD NIXON
speech, September 25, 1969
There is no question that people need pensions, particularly given the extended lifespan we are now experiencing. By changing Fed policies to allow interest rates to rise and encouraging people to put aside some of their earnings, we can hopefully reestablish the idea that each individual is responsible for their own pension and that government programs like Social Security are only supplemental in nature. Each individual needs to determine for themselves how much is enough based on their lifestyle expectancy.
BEN CARSON
interview, Forbes Magazine, January 29, 2015
We will not privatize it. If we had listened to Romney and the congressman during the Bush years, imagine where all those seniors would be now if their money had been in the market. Their ideas are old, and their ideas are bad.
JOE BIDEN
Vice Presidential debate, October 11, 2012
Social Security is by far the most popular federal government program, the best funded federal program, and the strongest remaining piece of our badly frayed system of social benefits. It is also under relentless attack by those who would kill it.
DAVID CAY JOHNSTON
foreword, Social Security Works!: Why Social Security Isn't Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All
Violate your rights, no more equality
Surrender freedom, your social security
We the people face unconstitutional lies
In greed we trust, in revolution we die
MEGADETH
"We The People"
I would never support what has to be the craziest ideas in the history of U.S. politics: allowing the government to invest Social Security retirement funds in the stock market. Not only would a market downturn spell disaster for millions of retirees, but the process by which government would choose stocks would also be entirely political, making lobbyists and other political hacks the new masters of the universe.
DONALD TRUMP
The America We Deserve
The fortieth anniversary of the Social Security Act celebrates an important milestone in responsible public service. I continue to be impressed by the steady responsiveness of the Social Security program to the changing needs of our people.... I warmly commend the employees of the Social Security Administration whose efforts are such a positive influence on the lives of countless fellow citizens.
GERALD FORD
speech, August 9, 1975
There's one thing I hope we will all be able to agree on. It's about our commitments. I'm talking about Social Security. To every American out there on Social Security, to every American supporting that system today, and to everyone counting on it when they retire, we made a promise to you, and we are going to keep it.
GEORGE H. W. BUSH
speech, January 31, 1990
As Republicans, if you think you are going to change very substantially for the worse Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security in any substantial way, and at the same time you think you are going to win elections, it just really is not going to happen.... What we have to do and the way we solve our problems it to build a great economy.
DONALD TRUMP
Washington Times, March 15, 2013