What the Candidates Think
Obama: President Barack Obama supports entitlement programs such as Medicare and Social Security. President Obama hopes to “strengthen” Social Security, and argues that the Affordable Care Act has “added 8 years to the solvency of Medicare by getting rid of $716 billion in waste, fraud and needless spending — including $156 billion in wasteful subsidies to insurance companies.” Obama also argues that the Affordable Care Act makes it easier for those with Medicaid coverage to access their benefits.
Romney: Gov. Mitt Romney says that he will strive to “modernize” American entitlement programs without raising taxes. He hopes to ensure the well-being of Social Security by gradually raising the retirement age and modifying benefit growth so that “the growth rate [is] lower for those with higher incomes.”
Romney also says that he wants to improve the Medicare program. Under his plan, “Instead of paying providers directly for medical services, the government’s role will be to help future seniors pay for an insurance option that provides coverage at least as good as today’s Medicare, and to offer traditional Medicare as one of the insurance options that seniors can choose.”
57% of retired Americans consider Social Security a "major source of income." (Gallup, April 2012)
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