A new Obama ad characterizes the "Bush-McCain privatization plan" as "cutting Social Security Benefits in half." This is a falsehood sure to frighten seniors who rely on their Social Security checks. In truth, McCain does not propose to cut those checks at all.
The ad refers to a Bush proposal from 2005 to hold down the growth of benefits for future retirees. Compared to the buying power of benefits paid to today's retirees, that would not have been a "cut" for anybody. It would have been a "cut" of half only in relation to benefits now promised to retirees who have yet to be born. And for average workers, that "cut" in 2075 was projected by one of Obama's own economic advisers to be 28 percent, not "half."
The ad also says McCain voted "in favor of privatizing Social Security." The term "privatizing" could give the wrong impression. McCain does support creating government-managed accounts that would allow individuals to invest some portion of their Social Security payroll taxes in widely diversified stock or bond funds.
Don Surber summarizes this the right way:
Democrat Barack Obama throws out the “he’ll take away granny’s Social Security” tactic that was used by President McGovern, President Mondale, President Dukakis, President Gore and President Kerry.
They never learn.
They always ridicule the Republicans as dumb — but the liberals keep using the same scare ‘em plan.
And it never works.
It’s the Acme Play Book.
Next Obama will be painting a tunnel on a rock wall and hoping McCain runs into it.
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