2014 Hawaii Governor's race: on Social Security

David Ige: Double the governor's request for Kupuna Care

The 2014 Legislature provided $9 million for Kupuna Care--double the amount requested by the Governor--but this does not meet the huge demand for services, like meal delivery, transportation, and respite services for caregivers. Legislation enacted this year expands eligibility for Kupuna Care to Medicaid recipients, although Medicaid recipients already qualify for similar services, and expanding eligibility makes a small pot of money even smaller. I will propose legislation that ensures Medicaid recipients receive services equivalent to those available through Kupuna Care.

Charles Djou: Never renege on our promises & commitment to our seniors

Social Security, Medicare and other entitlement programs need to be protected, not abused and exploited. Frequent borrowing from social security to pay for today's "priorities" has bankrupted the program.

We must keep the promises that have been made to our seniors. We cannot let Social Security go bankrupt. Social Security is sound for today's seniors and for those nearing retirement, but it needs to be fixed for our children. We must act soon, because every year that we wait to fix this problem we will burden future generations.

I support President Obama's suggested reforms for entitlements and believe this should be the basic foundation for fixing Social Security for the next generation.