Post #170

Subject: John W. McCain and his Social Security Problem

Retire: To withdraw oneself from business, public life, or active service.

I thought you had to be retired in order to collect Social Security. I also thought when you collected Social Security you could only work a certain amount of hours. Isn't the President of the United States a full-time job? :p

Republican Presidential candidate John McCain cashes his monthly Social Security checks despite calling the federal program "a disgrace," the Associated Press reports. McCain gets $1,930 a month from a ”broken” Social Security system. “I'm receiving benefits," McCain told campaign reporters, but added, "the system is broken."

In 2007, he received benefits of $23,157 from Social Security, approximately $1,930 a month. The maximum monthly benefit under Social Security is $2,185. Social Security benefits are determined by age at retirement.

McCain, who is 71, has received benefits since he was 65 – despite NOT retiring.

Whoops [blush] – McCain IS retired from the military. When McCain released his tax return for 2007, he separately disclosed that he received a pension of $58,358 that was not listed as income on his return.

McCain’s staff identified the retirement benefit as a "disability pension" and said that McCain "was retired as disabled because of his limited body movements due to injuries as a POW." Certain types of military and veterans pensions are either partially or completely tax-exempt, depending on the seriousness of the disability. In McCain’s case, the exemption is 100 percent. If McCain had to pay taxes on the full amount of the pension, it would have increased his tax bill by about $18,000 based on the percentage of his income he paid to the federal government.

McCain has long said he is in robust health and is strong enough to hike the Grand Canyon, but he also is receiving what his staff termed a "disability pension" from the Navy. If he is 100% disabled then he certainly shouldn't be running for President! :p

McCain told observers at a town-hall meeting in Portsmouth, Ohio, "Americans have got to understand that we are paying present-day retirees with the taxes paid by young workers ... and that's a disgrace." No, not a disgrace. Indeed, that's what family and community is all about - and that's why the Social Security contract cements the bond between young and old. The disgrace is a wealthy freeloader like McCain who obviously doesn’t need it with his snout in the trough. McCain's wife Cindy has a net worth of approximately $100 million.

My Grandma, 87, gets about 1/5 of what McCain does – and that IS her income. Social Security Insurance works well in doing what it was designed to do – providing insurance in case ya mess up your own retirement plans… or lack thereof. Government is NOT in charge of your retirement. Government keeps my Grandma from eating cat food.

Republicans are always complaining about too much government, welfare queens, government hand-outs, and praising self-sufficiency, rugged individualism, ‘pull yourself up by your own bootstraps,’ but they need to walk the talk. Weasels like McCain have been living off big government all their lives and have never held jobs in private industry. Yet, they're the first to condemn any sort of program which is designed to assist the lower wage workers – low-interest college loans, increases in the minimum wage, health insurance, or greater regulations of some corporate behavior – while benefiting themselves

The point is not that McCain isn't entitled to the Social Security money. The point is that he hypocritically derides Social Security as a "disgrace" but fails to set an example to other multi-millionaires that the system would be benefited greatly if those not needing the money would refuse it. If every multi-millionaire stopped taking the money they don't actually need and gave it to the poor or those without health insurance, think what good that would do!

B.J. Jarrett from the Social Security Administration said that individuals can refuse retirement benefits.

… from another blog: “When McCain began receiving Social Security retirement benefits at age 65, 4 of his children were also eligible for benefits. Children under age 18 are eligible for benefits on a retired beneficiary's record. Four of his children were 17,15,13 and 10 when he began resceiving Social Security benefits. One child, Bridget, is still under 18 and presumably still receiving benefits (half her dad's benefit rate or $965/month in 2007). With the 2.3% cost of living increase in January, 2008, McCain's current benefit probably exceeds $1974/month. His 2007 high earnings probably increased his benefits to an even higher benefit rate in his computation. His daughter gets 1/2 or $987 plus a month. His wife is also eligible for spouse's benefits for having an underage daughter in her care. His wife probably earns too much to collect that benefit though. However, if all her income is from investments and she has no wages or self employment earnings, she could draw another $987/month.

“Isn't it wonderful that Senator McCain is criticizing a program that his family benefits from to the tune of $36,000 to $48,000 this year? This is after having collected over $200,000 in family benefits in the previous 6 years.

“The pay as you go system which he criticizes has always been the basis of Social Security. Current wage earners pay for current beneficiaries. This system has succeeded in virtually eliminating poverty for senior citizens in the United States. This is the system that has helped enrich McCain and his family. This is the system that has allowed the McCain family to collect far more in benefits than he paid in taxes.

“It doesn't stop there. In his first marriage, Senator McCain's wife became disabled and, assuming she had worked sufficiently under Social Security, drew Social Security disability benefits. Since the McCain's had 3 young children, they would have been eligible for benefits as children under age 18 of a disabled beneficiary. In fact, at the time of her disability, children were eligible for benefits up to age 22 if they were full time students. So McCain family #1 may very well have had an opportunity to have Social Security defray a large portion of his children's college expenses. SSA benefits also lessened the burden on Mr. McCain's obligations to support his children from his 1st marriage after his divorce.

“The level of benefits that the McCains have received from Social Security is astounding. And he wants to dismantle the program that provided his family such substantial benefits?”