Medicare & Social Security

By Scott Peters

After a lifetime of hard work, San Diegans shouldn't have their Social Security and Medicare threatened by a Republican plan to balance the budget. I will protect Social Security and Medicare -- and our seniors.

Social Security and Medicare are compacts between the generations that we must not break. Men and women who have spent a lifetime of hard work, providing for their families and saving for their retirement, deserve the security of knowing their retirement and benefits, which they have worked hard to earn, will be there for them.

We do need to get on a road toward a balanced budget, but we've got to do it the right way. Simply put+we can't let Washington balance the budget on the backs of seniors and the middle class. We must protect both Medicare and Social Security. Period. These are rights seniors have earned after a lifetime of hard work and paying into the system.

While on the City Council, I set in motion a plan that reduced the overall cost of the pension program while preserving the benefits already paid for by city employees. Protecting and strengthening programs like Social Security and Medicare will require a similar approach.

PROTECT SOCIAL SECURITY

I believe Social Security should be a guarantee for retirement, not a question mark. I will fight any risky scheme to privatize Social Security and expose it to stock market ups and downs, threatening seniors' retirement plans.

PRESERVE MEDICARE

I understand that Medicare is what keeps many seniors from a retirement of poverty. I oppose efforts to cut Medicare and reduce it to a private voucher system that will only create a spike in out-of-pocket healthcare costs for seniors. We can reduce fraud and waste and find ways to reduce prescription drug costs, helping to reduce the overall costs of Medicare.

These are the responsible ways to strengthen and protect both Social Security and Medicare, keep them sustainable for future generations, and prevent cutting benefits for people who've earned them and are counting on them. I am the only candidate in this race that has actually fought to save pensions for retirees and partnered with workers to strengthen benefits, while reducing overall costs.