In April 2005 Senator Obama strongly opposed President Bush's proposal to privatize Social Security, arguing that "the freedom to pursue our own individual dreams is made possible by the promise that if fate causes us to stumble or fall, our larger American family will be there to lift us up":

"I can't help but think about the larger issue at stake here.

"Think about the America that Franklin Roosevelt saw when he looked out the windows of the White House from his wheelchair - an America where too many were ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed, and insecure. An America where more and more Americans were finding themselves on the losing end of a new economy, and where there was nothing available to cushion their fall.

"Some thought that our country didn't have a responsibility to do anything about these problems, that people would be better off left to their own devices and the whims of the market. Others believed that American capitalism had failed and that it was time to try something else altogether.

"But our President believed deeply in the American idea.

"He understood that the freedom to pursue our own individual dreams is made possible by the promise that if fate causes us to stumble or fall, our larger American family will be there to lift us up. ...

"Since Social Security was first signed into law almost seventy years ago, at a time when FDR's opponents were calling it a hoax that would never work and some likened it to communism, there has been movement after movement to get rid of the program for purely ideological reasons. Because some still believe that we can't solve the problems we face as one American community; they think this country works better when we're left to face fate by ourselves.

"I understand this view... But I couldn't disagree more. If we privatize Social Security, what will we tell retirees whose investments in the stock market went badly? We're sorry? Keep working? You're on your own? ...

"This isn't how America works. This isn't how we saved millions of seniors from a life of poverty seventy years ago. This isn't how we sent a greatest generation of veterans to college so they could build the greatest middle-class in history. And this isn't how we should face the challenges of this new century either." [2]

Obama, in June 2008:

"Since the New Deal, we've had a basic understanding in America that if you work hard and pay into the system, you've earned the right to a secure retirement. That's the promise that was kept for my grandparents and Michelle's parents, and for so many families here in Oregon and across the country. And if we keep that promise today, we're not just valuing work and our workers, we'll be keeping our businesses and our economy strong for the next generation. That's a future worth fighting for. And with your help, that's what I will do when I am President of the United States of America." [4]

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Does Obama want to raise payroll taxes to pay for Social Security?

Will Obama's tax plan lower or raise taxes?

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Does McCain support privatization of Social Security?

Does McCain rule out raising taxes to fund Social Security?

Has McCain changed his position on taxes?

Get the facts at McCain Fact Check.

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[1] BarackObama.com. Plan to Strengthen Retirement Security

[2] A Hope to Fulfill. Remarks of Senator Barack Obama: National Press Club April 26, 2005

[3] Political Radar. Obama: Clinton & Washington Treat Social Security Like 'Political Football' ABC News.com October 28, 2007

[4] The American Presidency Project. Barack Obama: Remarks in Columbus, Ohio University of California at Santa Barbara June 13, 2008