http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/letters/hc-letboxc0517.artmay17,0,6228506.story May 17, 2008
On the TV program "Live With Regis and Kelly," Sen. John McCain became uncharacteristically befuddled when asked about Social Security's problems. Was privatization the answer? asked Regis. No, said the senator, but then he continued in a rambling, inchoate fashion:
"I'd put everything on the table to start with, but second of all, that we ought — young workers ought be able to put part of their salary, part of their taxes into Social Security, into an account with their name on it."
That certainly sounds like privatization to me.
And it is consistent with his remarks made in a March 3 Wall Street Journal interview, in which he unequivocally supported privatization and went on to say that he is considering raising the Social Security retirement age to 68 and reducing the annual cost of living adjustment. Don't bother looking for any of these specifics on the senator's website (you'll find only a vague promise to "modernize" the system).
Actually, aside from his most recent remarks, Sen. McCain has been consistent in his support for some form of privatization. In 2006, he voted to shift Social Security's annual surplus into a reserve account that would be converted into private accounts. And earlier, the senator voted to replace Social Security's guaranteed benefits with income from risk-based private investments.
FULL story at link.