14th District GOP candidates share plans to save, revamp Social Security

All seven GOP candidates seeking the Republican nomination for the 14th Congressional District believe in making sure Social Security is solvent for those who now rely on the program or soon will.

But they don't agree on the best way to save it, and one candidate went as far as to call for winding down Social Security and replacing it.

The GOP candidates shared three main ideas last week to ensure Social Security survives for at least the near future.

State Sens. Jim Oberweis of Sugar Grove and Sue Rezin of Morris support an increase in the minimum age to qualify for benefits, as does Anthony Catella of St. Charles.

Oberweis said people are living much longer than they were in the program's early days. He called for raising the qualifying age to as late as 69 over a 20- to 30-year time frame.

"That's not what people want to hear, but I'm saying it straight and true," Oberweis said. "It's going to take an increase in that age limit."

Rezin said she supports raising the qualifying age, but she did not suggest how old people should be before accessing Social Security.

"As we are trying to figure this out, it's important to make sure we do not take that check that many senior citizens rely on to pay their bills and cut that check," she said.

Catella said in his answer that he supports welfare reform and raising the retirement age.

"It's not the popular thing to do, but sometimes we have to make the right decisions that will help us in the long run."

Ted Gradel of Naperville said the answer is continuing to support President Donald Trump's economic policies that put more people into the private-sector workforce. More workers mean more people paying into the pool of Social Security funds.

"We have record unemployment," Gradel said. "Private-sector opportunities will shore up our entitlements."

Woodstock resident Catalina Lauf, Jerry Evans of Warrenville and James Marter of Oswego all agreed the federal government has all the money it needs to operate Social Security.

"Why aren't we trimming the fat so that we can afford Social Security?" Lauf said. "There are so many agencies and departments in Washington that do nothing. There's so much taxpayer money that's going into the swamp. We need to focus on that and then solve Social Security."

Evans said he also believes the answer is more fiscal responsibility. He proposed an amendment to the Constitution requiring Congress to pass a balanced budget every year. He would also put Social Security into its own budget with money that could not be spent anywhere else. He also supports allowing people to opt-out of Social Security.

"We need a complete revamp," Evans said. "It starts with fiscal responsibility, and it ends with compassion."

Marter also supported the concept first voiced by former Democratic Vice President Al Gore to place Social Security in a "lockbox" of funds that can't be touched by another government agency or program. But that's a short-term solution, Marter said. His long-term plan calls for allowing people to opt-out of Social Security. He would then "repeal and replace" Social Security by diverting the money people pay into Social Security into safe, private investments.

"Social Security is a Ponzi scheme," Marter said. "If you were a financial adviser trying to sell this product right now, someone would probably come and arrest you. I'll opt out right now. If you put that money in the bank at a normal interest rate starting back when I was 16 working as a lifeguard, I'd be so much better off right now."

The candidates are scheduled to meet for a second debate at 7 p.m. Thursday at Batavia City Hall.

The sprawling 14th Congressional District includes parts of DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will counties.