Tom Marino Pushes for Cuts to Social Security

By CARNEY FOR CONGRESS

CLARKS SUMMIT – Tom Marino, in an interview yesterday, made clear that as a congressman he would cut Social Security to such an extent that those on the cusp of receiving Social Security benefits would get nothing. Asked by WKOK what programs he would cut, Tom Marino, who is 58 years old, answered: “Let me address Social Security. … My generation and probably the generation that follows me, we are going to have to step up to the plate and say, We are not going to get Social Security.”

Easy for Tom Marino to say. After all, Tom Marino earned $281,000 in 2009, more than five times the median household income in the state of Pennsylvania. Also, he owns two Florida vacation homes that he purchased for a combined $766,000 in 2005 and 2006.

But when it comes to making program cuts, Tom Marino puts Social Security in his crosshairs.

“It would have to be cut for my generation,” Marino said of Social Security. “My generation is probably going to have to work longer. If we get anything it is going to be less.”

Carney for Congress campaign spokesman Josh Drobnyk made the following comment in response: “It is absolutely shameful that Tom Marino wants to cut Social Security for those about to begin receiving benefits. He wants to eliminate Social Security for families that have been paying into the program for decades and have been counting on it to help pay the bills. Well, it’s easy for Tom Marino to say, considering he earned $281,000 last year and owns two vacation homes in Florida.”

The interview can be found at the following link, about two-thirds through the program.

http://www.wkok.com/roundtable/OTMMonday.mp3

TRANSCRIPT:

Marino on Social Security (WKOK – Aug. 23)

Q: Where do you cut? Give me a specific?

Marino: “Let me address Social Security. You have paid into it. I am paying into it. And my generation – like you did for the generation before you – we are paying for your Social Security. You paid for the generation’s before you Social Security. My generation and probably the generation that follows me, we are going to have to step up to the plate and say, We are not going to get Social Security. But we are going to pay into it to get this debacle squared away. So if I have to sacrifice my Social Security to get it squared away – because we can’t take Social Security away from people that are on it now. They are dependent on it. It is a fixed income. And for someone to say we are going to cut Social Security to the seniors, we cannot do that.

Q: But you would cut it in the future?

Marino: It would have to be cut for my generation to pay for it. … People don’t realize Social Security was designed as a supplement for your retirement and your pension and your savings. It has turned into, and I think to some degree, to a large degree because of the government, and now seniors have to be dependent on that. My generation is probably going to have to work longer. If we get anything it is going to be less. But I will certainly protect with every fiber in my body what the seniors are on now and my generation is going to take the hit.

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