Off the Table

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Incumbent U.S. Senator Russ Feingold, who's in a tough reelection fight here in Wisconsin against far-right Republican Ron Johnson, has a new TV ad out highlighting his support for Social Security.

In contrast to Sen. Feingold's strong support for Social Security, Ron Johnson has referred to Social Security as a “ponzi scheme.” [WisPolitics luncheon, 7/26/10] What's more, Johnson has also stated he supports privatizing Social Security and making the program vulnerable to fluctuations in the stock market, stating, “I’m certainly not opposed to taking a look at some privatization.” [Brookfield Chamber of Commerce, 6/21/10]

During his time in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Feingold has introduced legislation to prevent the government from using Social Security funds for other programs, and he has long opposed privatization of Social Security, which would take the "security" out of Social Security, instead subjecting benefits to the fluctuations of the stock market, which as we've seen over the past two years is a terrible idea. While there's no denying some reform of Social Security may be necessary to improve its solvency for the future, privatization is not the solution.

Views expressed on this page are those of the authors and not necessarily those of Campaign for America's Future or Institute for America's Future