Political Quotes

“I will answer that for my colleague. As Senator Durbin just said to me on the side, it will not be privatization, and that is absolutely true. The American people, American families, can absolutely count on the fact that it will not be privatizing Social Security. I would argue that the amendment we put up 2 weeks ago that simply says in the overall budget process, which is the value system for our country, the blueprint, is represented in what we do in our Federal checkpoint. The reality is, if we said we were going to take about 30 percent of what is being given over the next 75 years to those most blessed in this country, who are not worried about Social Security or Medicare or other kinds of opportunities, if we just ask them to take a little bit less, we would be able to secure Social Security for 75 years. The other thing I would say about the issue of asking folks about pensions, we have all been told by our folks that retirement is about a three-legged stool: Social Security, pension, and savings. When it comes to savings, the risk is with us to save. I believe we ought to create more opportunities for that. When it comes to pensions today for workers, it is becoming more of a risk for the worker, not a defined benefit but a defined contribution. The leg of the stool that has been secure, that we will fight to keep secure, is Social Security.…”