Kirsten Gillibrand on Social Security Democratic Senator (NY); Democratic Candidate for President (withdrawn)

Against privatization

Social Security
• Against privatization

Strengthen Trust Funds and take them off-budget.

Blue Dog budget framework
• Take the Social Security and Medicare trust fund surpluses off-budget and require that the trust fund surpluses be saved for Social Security and Medicare
• Reserve half of the on-budget surplus over the next five years -- $370 billion -- for debt reduction and strengthening Social Security and Medicare
• Allocate one-quarter of the on-budget surplus over the next five years for investments in priorities identified by the President and supported by both parties in Congress, including defense, Medicare prescription drugs, education, agriculture, low-income programs and veterans.
• Devote one-quarter of the on-budget surplus to tax cuts retroactive to 2001, for a net tax cut of $180 billion from 2001-2006.

Opposes private retirement accounts.

The Christian Coalition voter guide [is] one of the most powerful tools Christians have ever had to impact our society during elections. This simple tool has helped educate tens of millions of citizens across this nation as to where candidates for public office stand on key faith and family issues.

The CC survey summarizes candidate stances on the following topic: "Allowing individuals to invest a portion of their Social Security tax in private retirement accounts"

Reject privatization; don't raise the retirement age.

Some 200 Democratic House and Senate candidates have signed on to a pledge rejecting any effort to privatize or scale back Social Security benefits or raise the retirement age. The Progressive Change Campaign Committee sponsored this pledge among Congressional candidates.

Sponsored keeping CPI for benefits instead of lower "Chained CPI".

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION expressing the sense of the Congress that the Chained Consumer Price Index (CPI) should not be used to adjust Social Security benefits.

• WHEREAS the Social Security program continues to provide modest benefits--averaging approximately $14,000 per year--to more than 53,000,000 individuals
• WHEREAS the Trust Fund can pay full benefits through 2032;
• WHEREAS the Social Security program is designed to ensure that benefits keep pace with inflation through cost-of-living adjustments based on the CPI which measures prices of goods and services;
• WHEREAS the Chained CPI adjusts for projected changes in consumer behavior resulting from price fluctuations known as the `substitution effect`, which occurs when consumers buy alternative goods and services whose prices are rising more slowly than average;
• Now, therefore, be it RESOLVED that the Chained CPI should not be used to calculate cost of living adjustments for Social Security benefits.

  Opponent`s argument against bill:(Congressional Testimony by Jeffrey Kling, Congressional Budget Office Associate Director for Economic Analysis, April 18, 2013):

  The chained CPI grows more slowly than the trad

  Source: H.CON.RES.34 & S.Con.Res.15 13-SCR15 on Apr 18, 2013

  Rated 92% by ARA, indicating a pro-Trust Fund stance.

  Gillibrand scores 92% Alliance for Retired Americans

  Scoring system for 2014: Ranges from 0% (supports privatization and other market-based reforms) to 100% (supports keeping federal control over Trust Fund and Social Security system).

  About ARA (from their website, www.RetiredAmericans.org):

  The Alliance for Retired Americans is a nationwide organization, founded in May 2001, with now over 4.2 million members working together to make their voices heard in the laws, policies, politics, and institutions that shape our lives. The mission of the Alliance for Retired Americans is to ensure social and economic justice and full civil rights for all citizens so that they may enjoy lives of dignity, personal and family fulfillment and security.

  • Alliance members visit the polls in record numbers. We use the power of our membership and our Congressional Voting Record to educate and mobilize seniors to elect leaders committed to improving the lives of retirees and older Americans.
  • We are effectively warding off cuts to our most important social programs like Social Security and Medicare. Our Human Chain Against the Chained CPI events in the summer of 2013 took place in more than 50 cities and mobilized support for stopping this cut to earned Social Security benefits.
  • We blocked the privatization of Social Security with our Social Security `Truth Truck` delivering 2.1 million petitions to Members of Congress and other tactics.
  • The Alliance makes its voice heard on the issues that matter not just to current retirees, but to all Americans who hope to retire one day. We were a leading voice in recent debates considering changes to Medicare, like replacing guaranteed benefits with a voucher system, and remain so in 2014.
  Source: ARA lifetime rating on incumbents of 113th Congress 14_ARA on Jan 1, 2013

  Click here for definitions & background information on Social Security. Click here for a Wikipedia profile of Kirsten Gillibrand. Click here for a Ballotpedia profile of Kirsten Gillibrand. Click here for SenateMatch quiz answers by Kirsten Gillibrand. Click here for a summary of Kirsten Gillibrand's positions on all issues. Click here for issue positions of other NY politicians. Click here for issue statements from NY primary archives. Click here for issue statements from NY secondary archives.
  Other candidates on Social Security:		Kirsten Gillibrand on other issues:
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