Few issues will have a greater financial impact on Americans - and on the legacy of the next president - than the fate of Social Security, Medicare, and other such federal programs. However the next president and the Congress decide to act (or fail to act), generations of American workers and retirees will have to live with the consequences.

For Our Grandchildren is committed to providing up-to-date information on each of the major Democratic and Republican presidential candidates. What they've said, failed to say, or how they've contradicted themselves about the future of these programs is a matter of public record. On these pages, you'll find all this information in one place.

The pages are updated daily. Please visit often.

Indicates candidate has changed their position on reform.

"… private accounts, that only exacerbates the problem, exacerbates the problem, doesn't help the problem." Meet the Press, 3/5/05	"People should be able to invest their money the way that they see fit, instead of relying on federal bureaucrats and the current system." S4, YouTube 6/6/07
Opposes any proposal that would divert resources from Social Security and into private accounts. Did not offer a specific proposal to keep the program solvent. The State, 4/22/07	Would head off a "Social Security train wreck" by getting workers engaged in planning their own retirement with a combination of Social Security and personal accounts. Des Moines Register, 4/17/07
"'The sky is not falling,' Dodd said, in regards to those who would rush to reform Social Security." Telegraph Herald, 4/2/07	"Says he is considering all options to reform the program and prevent impending insolvency." http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/ issues/issues.socialsecurity.html
"I oppose diverting payroll taxes to private accounts but support offering matching accounts to workers on top of Social Security." Project Vote-Smart, 2004 Presidential National Political Awareness Test	"try to take some of our money and invest it ourselves, not in something like Enron but in, like we do with federal employees and members of Congress, in one of five different groups." FOX News Sunday, 2-27-2005
Wants to put real money, rather than borrowed money, in the Social Security Trust Fund, investing it properly and identifying the interests of individual beneficiaries so they can leave their surplus funds to their heirs. - Gravel Campaign website	"… speaks lovingly of the good old days before things like Social Security and Medicaid existed, before the federal government outlawed drugs like heroin…." The Washington Post, 7/9/06
"I staunchly oppose all efforts to privatize Social Security, thus diverting payroll tax dollars into individual accounts. I am against raising the retirement age, against raising the cap on taxable wages, and against means-testing for benefits." - Kucinich Campaign website	"… praise[s] the notion of personal accounts for Social Security recipients…" New Hampshire Union Leader, 6/7/07
Favors "an equitable mix of benefit and tax changes" to extend the solvency of the program. Is open to lifting the amount of income that is taxed for Social Security. The State, 4/22/07	"Supports allowing younger workers to divert some Social Security payroll tax into private retirement accounts." http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/ issues/issues.socialsecurity.html
Says he supports "universal pensions" and opposes privatizing Social Security. The State, 4/22/07	In 2004, he co-sponsored the Ryan-Sununu bill to reform Social Security by allowing for large personal savings accounts. Club for Growth website
	"He said that 'if the Social Security system is not reformed, no benefits will be available when workers now in their 20s and 30s begin to retire.'" Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/28/00
	"...is becoming a leader on the issue through his willingness to openly discuss the problems facing the Social Security and Medicare." Christian Science Monitor, 10/29/07