Kansas Senator Sam Brownback (R) withdrew from the race on October 19, 2007. Though no longer in the race, he was the sole candidate to date to submit a detailed proposal on what he would have done to shore up Social Security and Medicare. He was also a strong proponent of personal accounts. We'll miss his candor.
In an interview with For Our Grandchildren President, Lea Abdnor, Senator Brownback offered this concise view of the issue:
"I agree that we must take action now to save Social Security and ensure our nation's long-term fiscal prosperity. No matter what anyone says to the contrary, the Social Security Trust Fund trustees are right: Social Security is either going to go bankrupt in the not-too-distant future; or we can take steps now to save it. To save Social Security, we can do one or a combination of the following: (1) Raise taxes on our kids; (2) Cut benefits for retirees; (3) Raise the retirement age; or (4) Issue loads of debt that our grandkids will have to pay back. I reject all 4 of these options, and that leaves us with only one other viable option: Allow retirees the choice and opportunity to invest their Social Security taxes in private accounts with real ownership, like the Thrift Savings Program (TSP) currently enjoyed by government employees."
