Republican Mitt Romney yesterday praised the notion of personal accounts for Social Security recipients, a key aspect of the Social Security reform plan of President Bush that never made it out of Congress.
Romney said it would be a good idea to use the Social Security trust fund to allow personal accounts, which could earn higher rates of return for beneficiaries.
"Personal accounts would be a big plus," Romney said at the New Hampshire Institute of Art yesterday afternoon. Romney spoke to about 175 people in a town hall format where he took questions about civil unions, medical use of marijuana and weapons inspection during the run-up to the Iraq war.
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Also attending the event were members of Students for Saving Social Security, one of whom asked Romney the question about Social Security (emphasis ours).
Romney praised Bush's idea of personal accounts and said they would make up for some of the expected shortfall in the trust fund. He also said changing the retirement age could be considered, as well as basing the Social Security cost of living adjustment on a different inflation gauge. He criticized Democrats for wanting to raise Social Security taxes to address the shortfall.
