Ron Paul still cashes Social Security checks
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul confessed to receiving Social Security checks when he appeared on MSNBC’s Morning Joe on Wednesday. In his “Plan to Restore America”, Dr. Paul calls for an overhaul of federal entitlements including a reform of the Social Security system.
Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul told The Huffington Post's Sam Stein that
he still receives Social Security payments. Photo: MSNBC.
When asked by Sam Stein of The Huffington Post whether he was right to accept such payments, Dr. Paul said he was, because he was still contributing to the Social Security fund.
“I still pay Social Security. I pay more than I get out,” he told Mr. Stein. He further explained the reason behind his action.
“Just as I use the Post office, too, I use government highways, you do that too, I use the banks. I use the Federal Reserve system, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t work to remove this,” Dr. Paul stated. “In the same way on Social Security, I am trying to make a transition. If I were 20 years old and was offered the chance [to opt out], I’d jump at it. And the young people are jumping at it because they know this is not solvent,” he added.
A few months ago, Dr. Paul said that he understood younger voters’ desire to opt out of the current Social Security system, as they would end up receiving less than what they contributed. However, he does not expect those who have contributed to the Social Security scheme to opt out and lose out. Dr. Paul only proposes that those who are about to start paying into the scheme, or those who have only made contributions for a short period of time, be allowed to opt out of the system altogether.
Dr. Paul has previously described Social Security and Medicare are unconstitutional.