The bloodletting on Wall Street over the last couple of days has me thinking hard about my financial future. I know that a lot of people are thinking along the same lines as myself. While I love the fact that this turns the national media's focus away from silliness that marks every presidential campaign, I can't help but get more than a little selfish, and scared. Benchmark companies like AIG are a part of my 401k, and I someday hope to retire with the comfort of knowing that I won't be living on dog food. So, naturally, I did some searching for what each candidate's position on Social Security is.
One issue won't win this election, but Obama has not been polling well with older voters, and part of this may be due to Social Security.
I spent close to an hour digging through John McCain's website this evening and I fully expected to find something, anything at all outlining the candidate's position on Social Security.
NADA
NOTHING
ZILCH
Which leads to the question of why?
I had to go back to statements John McCain from the 2000 election to find anything. As you might expect, he shows the same 'Maverick' ideas on this issue that he has shown this decade. By 'Maverick', of course, I mean, "Lifted straight from the GOP platform," but maverick is less typing, and I do enough of that at work.
ontheissues.org
The insecurity of pretty much everyone's investments right now represents a great time to bring the insanity of privatized Social Security into the national dialogue. The Obama campaign has talked about Social Security, but I haven't heard anything about it since the primaries (that doesn't mean he hasn't talked about it since, but I haven't heard anything.)
We need to keep this issue in our discussions, the national media does look here. We need to write letters. We need to talk to our friends (at least our friends who care about more than trivia.) We also need to put pressure on both campaigns to talk about this.
I did end up sending the McCain campaign an email asking for a clear position on this. If I get a response, I will post that email here.
Update:
Well, it's been a few days and still no word back from the McCain campaign. Wonder why?