Gary Johnson on Social Security Former Republican NM Governor

Reform all entitlements, including Social Security

Johnson: Medicaid and Medicare and reforming Social Security.

Bachmann: Obamacare, the largest entitlement and spending program in our country's history.

Gingrich: Also, fraud in Medicaid and Medicare are rampant. We should stop paying the crooks.

Cain: I would focus on major entitlement reform. This would focus on programs similar to Social Security.

Change escalator from wage-based to inflation-based

We must act now to:
1. Balance the Budget. The math is simple: Federal spending must be cut not by millions or billions, but by trillions. And it must be done today. It's time to:
   • Reassess the role of the federal government and identify responsibilities that can be met more efficiently by the private sector.
2. Enact Responsible Entitlement Reform: Most people in Washington seem to think that we can control spending and balance the budget without reforming Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. This is lunacy.
   • Fix Social Security by changing the escalator from being based on wage growth to inflation. It's time for Social Security to reflect today's realities without breaking trust with those soon to retire.
3. Audit the Federal Reserve: We have a right to understand the process by which our currency is being created and managed.
   • Get the Federal Reserve out of the business of propping up the stock market through quantitative easing.

Maintain long-term solvency of Social Security and Medicare.

The Issue

Tax issues raise several concerns for states.
• How much of the potential non-Social Security surplus should be dedicated to tax cuts and breaks?
• Absent any consensus on long-term legislation to ensure solvency of Social Security and Medicare, would major federal revenue losses for tax cuts risk shifting substantial entitlement burdens to states?
• How would federal tax changes affect state income taxes?
• What are key elements for states of any future major tax bill? In school construction? For retirement? For housing and economic development? For health care?

NGA’s Position