Issue Position: Social Security & Medicare
Issue Position
The purchasing power of Social Security must be preserved. I have met many seniors who struggle to survive on just their monthly Social Security benefit: too often they live mired till death in poverty. I expect that an increasing portion of the senior population will only have Social Security for their golden years.
The average Social Security benefit is a bit above $1,200 per month while many seniors receive as little as $700 per month - well below the current poverty level of $931 a month for a single American.
I feel that Social Security can be stabilized to insure benefits for at least the next two generation of recipients. To help maintain Social Security I will push to...
Restore the full Social Security withholding rate. While it's great to get 2% more in a paycheck, the system can't afford to give away $90 billion a year.
Raise taxes on Albert Pujols: raise the cap on Social Security earnings from the current $110,100 per year to $500,000 by 2014 and $1 million by 2016.
Apply the Supplemental Poverty Measure when calculating Social Security cost of living adjustments. This will help benefit levels track with the cost of what seniors buy instead of the outdated Federal Poverty Level Guidelines.
Medicare buys more health care than any corporation or entity in America. It is imperative that the program be well managed to concentrate dollars on patient care. Medicare and all the federal government's other health care programs - federal employee health plans, programs for military dependents and veterans included - should be part of one unified purchasing plan.
Good health is priceless. Access to all needed medical services ought not to depend on wealth or luck. Medicare must remain an entitlement for all seniors. Co-payments need to be progressive, with lower-income seniors paying less.
The nation must move towards a single payer health care system. This change will take decades but it is apparent that Medicare will be the core of the new system.
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