This strategy, initially advocated by presidential candidate George W. Bush, would partially privatize the Social Security system by establishing voluntary personal retirement accounts and enabling workers to earmark a portion of their Social Security tax payments to be invested in the stock market on their behalf.
Obama on Social Security Privatization
According to his campaign website, “Obama is strongly opposed to privatizing Social Security.”
In a statement issued in response to John McCain’s apparent reversal on the privatization issue in June 2008, Obama said: “Well let me be clear: privatizing Social Security was a bad idea when George W. Bush proposed it. It's a bad idea today. It would eventually cut guaranteed benefits by up to 50 percent. It would cost a trillion dollars that we don't have to implement on the front end, permanently elevating our debt.
"And most of all, it would gamble the retirement plans of millions of Americans on the stock market. That's why I stood up against this plan in the Senate, and that's why I won't stand for it as President.”
