State of Arkansas Archives: on Social Security

Conner Eldridge: Protect seniors from privatization and Wall Street gambling

• Protect Social Security and Medicare from privatization so that seniors' hard-earned benefits aren't gambled on Wall Street.
• Ensure Social Security funds are only used for Social Security and not to pay for other cash-strapped government programs.
• Oppose any and all efforts to raise the retirement age or cut benefits for current beneficiaries.
• Recalculate the formula that determines cost-of-living adjustments (COLA) for Social Security recipients because as inflation and prices go up, so should their COLA.

Curtis Coleman: Divert some FICA taxes into personal retirement accounts

Coleman: Yes

French Hill: Keep our promises, and enhance 401k's & reverse mortgages

I support policies that help hard-working Americans save for retirement and health care independent of government aid. We must enhance 401(K)'s, IRA's, and health savings accounts so seniors can have security and peace of mind. We should protect and promote the FHA's successful reverse mortgage program, which offers seniors increased liquidity based on the years of accumulated equity. However, these meaningful improvements will only matter if we control Washington's spending addiction.

Mark West: System going bankrupt; cautious transition to privatization

A: Support because the current system is going bankrupt so we have to begin a cautious transition for those who choose to self-direct

John Boozman: Private accounts should be looked at as an option

"The 23 percent sales tax is just a bad idea for Arkansans," Lincoln said. "It is replacing your federal income tax with a 23 percent consumption tax on anything you purchase, anything from your bread to your tires to your home to your car."

Boozman defended his position on Social Security and said that private accounts should be looked at as an option. Boozman said that he's open to the idea of the national sales tax and said it would simplify taxes for Americans.

"I think it's something that needs to be looked at. I would love to get rid of the IRS," Boozman said.

Tom Cotton: Oppo AdWatch: supports Privatizing social security

"The real Tom Cotton? Just scratch the surface," the ad's narrator says as Cotton's face is shown on a scratch-off lottery ticket. "Cotton made hundreds of thousands of dollars working for corporate interests. In Congress he takes their campaign cash, luxury trips around the country, and then backs their schemes: Privatizing social security, gambling it on Wall Street, pledging to keep tax breaks that ship jobs overseas. The real Tom Cotton? A politician we just can't trust."

Cotton and Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) are locked in a hard-fought race in conservative Arkansas. Both sides have been spending heavily on TV ads for months.