SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Rick Santorum called Mitt Romney “too timid” on his plan to reform Social Security, and compared the former Massachusetts governor with President Obama’s positions on the issue.
Talking about reforming entitlement programs like Social Security and Medicare is generally unpopular politically, but Santorum “went there” Wednesday evening during a campaign stop at a conference center with a few hundred South Carolinians, many of them children, in attendance.
“He’s afraid to be honest with the American public about what it’s going to take to actually change those programs,” the former Pennsylvania senator told the crowd, speaking of Romney. “We don’t need a president who doesn’t tell the American public the truth about our problems. We already got that. What we need is someone who is going to be honest with the American public.”
Santorum also criticized former House Speaker Newt Gingrich’s plan to create a second version of Social Security for those currently under the retirement age, one that would establish private investment accounts that participants could use however they wanted. Gingrich’s plan would create a significant funding deficit, which he has said would be offset by savings in the program and spending reductions elsewhere in government.
“Newt has a plan that is actually going to explode the deficit and create moral hazards where the government’s going to end up spending more now and more later. Not a good idea,” Santorum told the crowd. “Mitt Romney’s plan is too timid. I sorta feel like Goldilocks — a little too cold, a little too hot. We’re just right.”
But he saved most of his criticisms for Romney, who has advocated raising the retirement age for Social Security “by a year or two,” and slowing the growth of benefits for retirees who are financially well off. Santorum would like to offer private health care plans that offer benefits equal to Medicare’s, and raise the age of eligibility. Romney would preserve benefits for seniors currently in both programs.
“His plan is too timid because it doesn’t want to deal with any problems today,” said Santorum. “He doesn’t want to make any changes for ten years. Hello? We have a $1.2 trillion deficit. We have a $15 trillion debt, that’s almost $16 trillion. … We have a disaster right now, and they want to wait ten years to change the two biggest programs in the federal government. Why?”
“Timid.”
Santorum blamed Obama for cutting the Social Security payroll tax by 2 percent, calling it one reason the program will lack funding in the future. Santorum’s plan would also raise the retirement age and means-test Social Security recipients by cutting benefits for wealthy retirees.
As of 2011, he said, 60,000 Americans who earn more than $1 million per year collect Social Security benefits, and that “makes no sense.”