Cynically but accurately put, Americans oppose public intervention or regulation if it helps others, but favor it if it helps them – take social security, disaster relief, public works projects, for example. – Jon Meacham
No matter how you cut it, this real debate on personal accounts is about the legitimacy of Social Security; it’s not about the solvency of Social Security. – Joe Biden
In fact, entitlement spending on programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security make up 54% of federal spending, and spending is projected to double within the next decade. Medicare is growing by 9% annually, and Medicaid by 8% annually. – Jim Ryun
We will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it – not by turning it over to Wall Street. – Barack Obama
The first year of the Bush administration we used up all of the surplus and ended up just with the Social Security and Medicare surplus, and each year worse than the year before. – Bobby Scott
And in terms of entitlement reforms, we have to save them from themselves, because if we don’t reform social security and we don’t reform Medicare, they’re going to actually implode. – Ben Quayle
The national debate on Social Security has been cheapened by demagoguery on all sides. – Bill Delahunt
Not too many years ago, both parties acknowledged that our entitlement commitments were a sword hanging over our heads. But when President George W. Bush tried to begin discussions on Social Security reform, Democrats ridiculed and demonized him and told seniors he was after their nest eggs. – David Limbaugh
Social Security has been effective for 70 years; prior predictions of its demise have been totally overstated. – Grace Napolitano
There is a need for Social Security reform to ensure its stability, and Congress must act. – Grace Napolitano
Under the current pay-as-you-go Social Security system, not one person is actually guaranteed benefits. – Ginny Brown-Waite
Even without reforms, the Social Security fund will be able to meet 100 percent of its obligations until 2042. – Grace Napolitano
We do ourselves a disservice when some of us cave to the myth that Social Security somehow drives the deficit. – Martin O’Malley
My neighbors aren’t millionaires. They’re retirees who depend on Social Security and Medicare. – Marco Rubio
Social Security represents an $11 trillion unfunded obligation. And when I say unfunded obligation, I mean we have to come up with $11 trillion at some point to make the system whole. – John W. Snow
One poll shows that by 61 percent to 29 percent Americans under 40 say that Social Security needs to be fixed. – Virginia Foxx
The real sin with Social Security is that it’s a long-term rip-off and a short-term scam. – Tony Snow
Social Security and Medicare represent promises made and we must keep these commitments. – Tom Coburn