McCain, Huckabee discuss Social Security

SIOUX CITY, Iowa, Oct. 26 (UPI) -- Republican presidential hopefuls Mike Huckabee and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., addressed the Social Security issue at an Iowa forum hosted by AARP.

McCain said during the forum, which was attended by only those two candidates, that another debate is needed on U.S. President George Bush's plan to include private savings accounts as part of the government program, the Des Moines (Iowa) Register reported Friday.

The senator also called for retirees to become less dependent on Social Security as a source of income.

"The dirty secret in America today is that Medicare and Social Security are going broke. They're going broke and they're not going to be there for future generations of young Americans and we owe them the responsibility to make hard choices now," McCain said.

Huckabee said he would address the issue by providing retirees with the choice of receiving a one-time Social Security payout and adopting the Fair Tax plan to encourage people to save for their retirements. The plan would exchange federal income taxes with a national sales tax.

"The reason why we hit such a roadblock (reforming Social Security) is partly because of the word 'privatized' accounts," Huckabee said. "A better word would be 'personalized' accounts to empower you as a consumer to look out there on the horizon and make some decisions about your life and your money, and the government would be a partner."