CSE Auto-Dial and Activist Calls Reveal Edwards’s True Social Security Position

National grassroots leader Citizens for a Sound Economy (CSE) is conducting a telephone campaign in South Carolina today to inform voters about Democratic presidential hopeful Senator John Edwards’s lack of a Social Security reform plan.

North and South Carolina CSE members are also making personal phone calls informing fellow taxpayers about the candidate’s evasion of the Social Security question. 17,769 homes in South Carolina are being called to give voters the facts before they hit the Democratic primary polls tomorrow. Citizen activists in the Carolinas chapters of CSE are working tirelessly to provide all the resources needed to make the calls.

Edwards has not presented any plan to solve the quickly approaching Social Security crisis. If nothing is done, the program will be running deficits by the year 2018. Seniors will receive fewer benefits and taxpayers will have to take more out of their paychecks to support this entitlement. This is due to a drop in the number of people contributing to Social Security as compared to the number of beneficiaries. The Social Security problem is one of the biggest issues facing our nation—- it cannot be ignored this election.

CSE made repeated attempts, including personal intercepts in several states, to get Edwards to sign a pledge committing to real Social Security reform based on four principles: 1) Guarantees promised benefits for the retired or nearly retired, 2) Does not increase Social Security taxes, 3) Allows workers to invest a portion of their Social Security taxes in Personal Retirement Accounts, and 4) Ensures that workers would own their own accounts—not the government.

Unfortunately, Senator Edwards refused to take a stand on the issue.

The Personal Retirement Accounts specified in the CSE pledge will allow taxpayers to invest their contribution in accounts they own and control. These investments will grow much faster in the market than they would as a part of the Social Security system. Moreover, personal ownership would make it impossible for government to raid these accounts. Allowing people to save for their own retirement will put the program on a better footing to meet future demands.

CSE will continue to fight hard to inform voters about the looming Social Security disaster, and let the public know where all of the candidates stand.

The text and audio of the auto-dial can be found on CSE’s website www.cse.org.