AP heart-ache: Why does McCain criticize social security while continuing to receive benefits?
posted at 10:21 pm on July 17, 2008 by Allahpundit
Send to a Friend |
Share on Facebook | printer-friendly
Because he paid into the system and is entitled to them so long as it exists?
“I’m receiving the benefits, the system is broken and, unfortunately, my children and grandchildren, according to the trustees of the Social Security system, will not have the same benefits the present retirees have,” McCain told reporters Thursday on his campaign bus.
McCain’s 2007 tax return shows Social Security benefits of $23,157 for the year, an average of $1,929.75 a month. He said he started receiving the payments “whenever I was eligible.”…
McCain reported a total income of $405,409 in 2007. As a senator, he is paid $169,300 a year. Last year, he donated $105,467 to charity, his return shows.
I wonder how many left-wing papers ran this story today alongside paid ads placed by the sort of multinational corporations they claim to loathe. After all, you can take money from an institution while still earnestly working against its (and thus, indirectly, your own) interest. Right, Barry? Media Blog notes that Obama happily cashes his senate check every month despite railing against Washington, but I can think of a better example than that. If you’re looking for financial interests that contradict reform rhetoric, forget his congressional salary, which is a mere few hundred thousand. Let’s talk about a few hundred million.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Blowback
Note from Hot Air management: This section is for comments from Hot Air's community of registered readers. Please don't assume that Hot Air management agrees with or otherwise endorses any particular comment just because we let it stand. A reminder: Anyone who fails to comply with our terms of use may lose their posting privilege.
Trackbacks/Pings
Trackback URL
Comments
McCain wants to fix the system before it fails.
That bastard.
wise_man on July 17, 2008 at 10:26 PM
If a person did not want to get the benefits how would they go about that? Is this REALLY an option?
EJDolbow on July 17, 2008 at 10:29 PM
Like leaving it in the hands of the Government is a better option?
Why not take it since he paid into it, and then distribute it to whatever charity you wish?
WoosterOh on July 17, 2008 at 10:31 PM
Yeah, Johnny Mac wants to fix Social Security. He wants to fix it good.
By letting illegals in on the sweet deal.
How anybody can take him seriously when he yammers about entitlements is beyond me. He wants to use them to buy votes, just like every other liberal.
misterpeasea on July 17, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Whoa! he donated over twice as much as he kept?
Chakra Hammer on July 17, 2008 at 10:36 PM
Eh? He made $405,000 and donated $105,000.
amerpundit on July 17, 2008 at 10:40 PM
Does anybody else suspicion that this is really just another “McCain is old” story?
kc8ukw on July 17, 2008 at 10:40 PM
When did this place become a Cheese and Whine Club? SS benefits are your legal property….nobody has to justify their decision to receive their benefits. I am not a fan of Mav, and I am not a fan of petty politics.
David in ATL on July 17, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Hmm, how do I answer this trolls latest troll…
*spins the ‘how to reply to a troll’ wheel.* …. bzzz … No. *tries again* … bzz … No. *again* … Bzzz …
Darn. I’m only coming up with profanity. Oh well.
wise_man on July 17, 2008 at 10:41 PM
Don’t worry young people. The govt. has written alot of IOU’s.
Seriously, I feel like our govt is Jim Carey in Dumb and Dumber.
VolMagic on July 17, 2008 at 10:42 PM
But isn’t he some billionaire old white dude who has exploited the real american proletariet his entire life? Screw him! Obama doesn’t need no Social Security baby…he’s earned his money the honest way…as a race baiting pol!
AUINSC on July 17, 2008 at 10:43 PM
I’d be glad to pay 100 times my fair share of Doubling —Heck, Quadrupling—- his Social Security, Military Disability and Retirement, and Senate Retirement benefits…..
If he would actually retire before the end of the summer.
LegendHasIt on July 17, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Well, two answers. One is the person who crafted the snarky headline. And the second, ‘this is hotair’s “New Yorker magazine cover” response to the news story. aka, what the liberals would say about the story, if the liberals would write it.
wise_man on July 17, 2008 at 10:44 PM
Interesting read…………………
Seven Percent Solution on July 17, 2008 at 10:45 PM
How about if we find out how many in Government are using HMO’s. They rail against them, but use them.
Might not be much as I am sure they have their “we are special” insurance.
WoosterOh on July 17, 2008 at 10:46 PM
This is so stupid. I know a lot of Republicans on Medicare too. Shocker!
Terrye on July 17, 2008 at 10:46 PM
This is indeed prepostrous argument. According to this logic anyone who says that the government has too much power can’t run for an office. Even if they do it with the purpose of curbing the said powers.
freevillage on July 17, 2008 at 10:48 PM
misterpeasea:
That is stupid too. Obama will give illegals nationalized health care and social security. And yet, you never bitch about him? Got your bumper sticker yet?
Yes we can!
Terrye on July 17, 2008 at 10:49 PM
oh i totally read those numbers wrong thanks!
My eyes are going buggy from reading all day.. 8^)
Chakra Hammer on July 17, 2008 at 10:49 PM
He donated 25%.
In addition to his taxes.
wise_man on July 17, 2008 at 10:50 PM
So he donated the vast MAJORITY of his Senatorial earnings to Charity.
Chakra Hammer on July 17, 2008 at 10:52 PM
It’s probably the same mentality that enables Al Gore to rail against Apocalyptic Global Warming while at the same time guzzling energy like a herd of ravenous earth raping pigs.
MB4 on July 17, 2008 at 10:53 PM
Hey wow, another troll showed up.
wise_man on July 17, 2008 at 10:55 PM
No. Al Gore buys green energy.
freevillage on July 17, 2008 at 11:00 PM
One of my favorite Dem quotes of all time was Geraldine Ferrarro on a talk show a few years ago, when Bush made his attempt at privatizing SS. The interviewer asked why she was against private retirement accounts. She replied, “I don’t have a problem at all with people setting up private retirement accounts. They should do that. But let them do it with their own money.” Their own money? I could not believe she slipped like that and revealed how she and other Dems think of Social Security as THEIR money, not ours. I could not believe she had the guts or the idiocy to imply that SS is not the contributors’ own money, that we should be able to do with as we please. I forget who was interviewing her, but they let it pass without comment. I did fire off an email to Rush, though, in hopes that he’d play the clip and make hay with it.
McCain has every right to draw his SS money. He’s paid it in, and then some, I’m sure. Unfortunately, my generation will never see that money again. We are being robbed blind. I’m self-employed, so I see every penny of the 15% that goes in on my behalf. Most working people never even see the whole 15% go in because their employers are writing the other check, but it’s going in. Many never even realize that they’re paying 15% because they think it was never theirs in the first place. They’re anesthetized by the withholding system, and it’s wrong. They’re paying the government more for a retirement account they can’t control and will likely never see than they pay for almost anything else, and they have no say in it. It’s theft, plain and simple. (off soapbox)
aero on July 17, 2008 at 11:02 PM
That’s more accurate.
knob on July 17, 2008 at 11:05 PM
Hey new guy, could you go get bent or something? You’re not the ‘troll patrol’ ok? Just because you’re a dyed in the wool McCain lame-o and you don’t like those who disagree doesn’t mean you get to call them trolls, ok? Most of your mooning party line paens to McCain make you sound like an ambulatory colostomy bag, but beyond disagreeing with you, nobody calls you ‘party hack boy’ (well, maybe they do, but I haven’t seen it)every time you show up somewhere; so drop this ‘there’s a troll’ crap, ok?
austinnelly on July 17, 2008 at 11:25 PM
Well, he is a troll.
wise_man on July 17, 2008 at 11:26 PM
So if you argue that McCain shouldn’t take his SS benefits, you are in fact arguing for a means test to receive benefits. I’m fine with that. Tell us, AP, how rich you have to be to lose eligibility? And tell us which democrat is going to suggest it? Obama?
redshirt on July 17, 2008 at 11:30 PM
Oh, and the other point here, is that he paid into the SS ponzi scheme with his own money…so it was always his to begin with…but everybody here knows this. It’s the mouth breathers that get their facts from MSNBC that don’t know it, and they are beyond hope anyway.
AUINSC on July 17, 2008 at 11:37 PM
That’s an excellent point. Taxes should be less automatic for everyone to actually see how much is taken away form them.
freevillage on July 17, 2008 at 11:39 PM
Barrack Obama keeps saying that Washington is broken but he keeps cashing his check from the Senate…
Troika37 on July 17, 2008 at 11:40 PM
This is one of the dumbest arguements ever. First of all, Social Security is something that we all pay for, and will never get back what we paid into it unless we live to be 114. Second, saying that you can’t complain about the problems with Social Security because you continue to receive payments is like saying you can’t complain about gas prices because you continue to drive.
SoulGlo on July 17, 2008 at 11:48 PM
I want to see a hit-piece on each member of Congress who is going to increase our taxes next year but currently pays only the minimum tax rate. Why don’t they pay 39% since they’re asking us to? I’m sure AP is rushing this story to press as we speak.
bigbeas on July 17, 2008 at 11:54 PM
Three things we can be certain about, death taxes and … um, yeah!
wise_man on July 18, 2008 at 12:00 AM
Dunno about that. I noticed this year that my ss withholdings actually exceed my federal tax withholdings. And I am claiming 0 deductions, so it can’t be I’m having too little taken out.
sloopy on July 18, 2008 at 12:10 AM
Didn’t much like what I said about Al Gore aparently, huh?
Get over it.
MB4 on July 18, 2008 at 12:17 AM
Al Gore buys and sells “carbon offsets”, similar to “rape offsets”. With just one of his houses alone he guzzles 10 times what a normal person/family does. His private jets do not burn “green” fuel. If you want to know about a “green” house do a little research on not Al Gore’s energy guzzling house, but rather Geaorge Bush’s much more “green” house.
Al Gore is a fraud and a hypocrite.
MB4 on July 18, 2008 at 12:23 AM
Able to guzzle more energy than dozens of normal men! Producing more hot air than a locomotive! Able to pile up carbon credits higher than a tall building in a single bound!!!
Look UP in the sky! It’s ChickenLittle! It’s FlyingSnakeOilSalesman! It’s the Sultan of Hanging Chads! It’s the Ayatollah of Heat! No, it’s CarbonMan in a private jet painted green! And now following in the tradition of other great men such as Jimmy Carter and Yasir Arafat, he is the proud recipient of a Nobel Prize!!!
CarbonMan, strange visitor from an alternate reality who came to Earth with claims and scary predictions far beyond those of mortal men, disguised as Fat Albert, and now joined by other members of the Royal Green League such as BioFuelHummerMan, EcoCleaningWoman, and his latest recruits, the molding geriatrics JuanGreenOldCoot and HolyGreenOldJoe, they all fight a never ending battle for science-fiction, hypocrisy, big-money-making-scams and the Hollywood way!
MB4 on July 18, 2008 at 12:27 AM
MB4, sometimes you are alright.
redshirt on July 18, 2008 at 12:30 AM
Can you lighten up on us mouth breathers? It’s not my fault the doctors didn’t make sure all my sinuses and nasal passages lined up right when I was born.
Oh yeah, getting facts from MSNBC is an oxymoron. So there. :)
platypus on July 18, 2008 at 12:33 AM
With all do respect, can we let the people that operate the site (Allah and Ed) or own it (Michelle) decide who is a troll? It is kinda the respectful thing to do.
Dawnsblood on July 18, 2008 at 12:38 AM
I’m not a big fan of McCain, but I gotta give him this one for sure. Anybody wanna compare his numbers to what Obama made and donated to charity? I’m not sure where else McCain gets his money besides S.S. and the Senate (I’m guessing Navy retirement, investments, etc.), but you could essentially say the guy donated his S.S. and half his Senate salary to charity.
Very generous, sir.
cs89 on July 18, 2008 at 2:31 AM
If a person did not want to get the benefits how would they go about that? Is this REALLY an option?
EJDolbow on July 17, 2008 at 10:29 PM
A person COULD pay in more on their taxes. ( I remember someone remarking on that to liberals claiming we need to raise taxes to raise more money for more entitlements. It was interesting to see them clam up as soon as they asked for volunteers. Typical liberals)
Of course, by paying more taxes you are taking the GIGANTIC leap of faith that they will even funnel it back to Social Security. I guess you could write a note ‘for Social Security only’ or something.
I just want them to let me keep the money I pay into that every year and invest it instead. If I had the extra money in my mutual funds I’d still be up quite a bit of money in the last year even in this weak market. Far more than my money is going in Social “Security”
MannyT-vA on July 18, 2008 at 6:50 AM
Leave misterfece alone, he’s only allowed out from under his bridge on months without r’s in them…
PatriotPete on July 18, 2008 at 7:07 AM
The end of Ed’s introduction reminded me that the problem with presumptive candidate Senator Obama [Peace Be Upon His Name] is not his big ears but his enormous earmarks – huge earmarks in just days in office.
LaMonte on July 18, 2008 at 7:58 AM
Nothing bolsters your argument like a “Obama is a Muslim” joke.
Squid Shark on July 18, 2008 at 8:11 AM
While not articulated well, the original poster has a point. McCain may complain about the solvency of Social Security, but he has also advocated an amnesty approach that would drastically accelerate the timeline.
If he truly cared about Social Security, beyond just an election year talking point, why hasn’t he done anything about it? Hasn’t he been a Senator for a few years now? Has he introduced legislation to take Social Security out of the general fund, and stop Congress from raiding it to pay for projects named after themselves? Has he pushed for border security to reduce the influx of illegal immigration, which creates a larger drain services?
Sorry, these are real questions. The only troll here is you, since you are using personal, emotional attacks to shut up people who are making valid points.
dominigan on July 18, 2008 at 8:14 AM
yeah we musnt’t say anything that may upset the ObaMAHDI or his wife, or children, or his supporters.
we must only say that which the ObaMAHDI (pbuh) approves.
right4life on July 18, 2008 at 9:04 AM
What a non-story. He paid into it, he should get the benefits out of it, regardless of whether or not he thinks the system is broken.
But a hundred grand donateed to charity? About a quarter of his income?
That’s pretty impressive.
But I guess it’s easy with a bazillionaire wife.
Dave Rywall on July 18, 2008 at 10:20 AM
My dad, rest his soul, a staunch conservative… well more libertarian except I don’t know what he thought about dope… kind of shocked me when he told me he was going to begin receiving his SS benefits at 65. But his point was valid (as all of his points were). He PAID that money for over 35 years (too bad you can’t say he ‘invested’ it… at least in a way that returned more than the paltry nothing percent SS earns) and hell if he was going to let the government keep it!
Unfortunately, he only drew from HIS “investment” for 6 years… to his and my chagrin, the Gov made a tidy profit via SS on Dad…
Fighting Eyeball on July 18, 2008 at 11:15 AM