S4's Jo interviewed Governor Richardson in the spin room after the Democratic debates held at Howard University on June 28th, 2007, where the governor was able to outline his plan to address the problems facing Social Security:
S4: Governor, I'm with Students for Saving Social Security, and I want to know what your plan is to fix our Social Security system for future generations. As our next president, what would you do?
Richardson: The first thing I would do is stop raiding the Social Security trust fund. The second thing I would do is stop talking about privatizing Social Security. Third, I'd try to find universal pensions, a 401(K) that is portable so that individuals can take their pensions when they change jobs. And lastly, by growing the economy, by having a robust economy, that will make the Social Security system sounder. But what we need is bipartisanship to save both Social Security and Medicare in the out years. We need to deal with this, because Social Security after 2041 is going to be in trouble.
Statements on Reform
"Keeping Social Security Solvent: The first step is to balance the federal budget and refuse to privatize Social Security. Private accounts are individual savings accounts, while Social Security is a social insurance program and safety net for America's retirees."
- Richardson for President
"The way we keep Social Security solvent is to focus on economic growth...The assumption that Social Security will be bankrupt in 2045 is based on an average of just 1.3 percent economic growth. We can and must do better than that."
- New York Daily News, July 2, 2007
