News sources around the country have more to say about Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney's (R) position on the future of Social Security and Medicare than Romney's own website. Pulling all the media reports together, it appears Romney supports fundamental changes that include personal accounts.
*In a campaign appearance, Romney expressed support for replacing some of Social Security's guaranteed benefits with privatized accounts. He also suggested as cost-saving measures raising the retirement age and changing the way Social Security is adjusted for inflation.(Union Leader, 6/7/2007)
*Romney wants to reform programs such as Social Security and Medicare but has not promised to preserve benefits. "I don't want to add entitlements," he says, "I want to find ways to reform our entitlement programs." (Boston Globe, 1/27/06)
*"(Romney) is weighing…deep cuts in automatic-benefit programs such as Medicare and Social Security….Romney aides say he is intrigued by the ideas of Democrat Robert Posen who served on Bush's 2001 Social Security Commission. Posen's plan calls for 'progressive indexation' that maintains the current Social Security benefit formula for the poor while providing gradual benefit reductions for wealthier individuals." (Bloomberg, 2/7/2007)
*Romney proposes a benefit system that treats current retirees and those close to retirement differently than younger workers: "...Romney…says it's time to reform the two major 'entitlement' programs in America: Social Security and Medicare, government-paid health care insurance for the elderly.…Romney says the solution should 'make sure that we honor the expectations' of those who are already getting Social Security and those who are about to get regular Social Security checks from the government, while at the same time ensuring the system will be solvent when the 30- and 40-year-olds of today reach retirement age." (Radio Iowa, 8/25/06)
