Mike Bloomberg on Social Security

	Mike Bloomberg on Social Security Mayor of New York City (Independent)

2009: Called Social Security a "Ponzi scheme"

Bloomberg compared Social Security to a "Ponzi scheme" and repeatedly said cuts to that program as well as Medicare and Medicaid had to be part of any serious solution to reducing the federal deficit. "I don't know if Bernie Madoff got his idea from there, but if there's ever a Ponzi scheme, people say Madoff was the biggest? Wrong. Social Security is, far and away," Bloomberg said in a January 2009 appearance, referencing the imprisoned former investment adviser who committed billions in fraud. Source: CNN K-File FactCheck on 2020 presidential hopefuls , Feb 26, 2020

2009: Social Security a Ponzi scheme, 2020: boost receipts

Bloomberg vowed to "strengthen entitlement programs." But when he was mayor of New York, Bloomberg twice compared Social Security to a "Ponzi scheme" and repeatedly said cuts to that program as well as Medicare and Medicaid had to be part of any serious solution to reducing the federal deficit. "I don't know if Bernie Madoff got his idea from there, but if there's ever a Ponzi scheme, people say Madoff was the biggest? Wrong. Social Security is, far and away," Bloomberg said in a January 2009 appearance.

A spokesman for Bloomberg defended him: "Mike believes that between now and that time, we will need to boost receipts by raising contributions from those who can best afford it."

Source: CNN K-file on 2020 presidential hopefuls , Feb 26, 2020

New minimum benefit; expand support for senior savings

Mike will introduce a new minimum benefit in Social Security. Mike will help people prepare for retirement by providing a government-backed savings plan that cuts out expensive fees, grows money safely and provides a match for low-income workers. Mike will develop a federal safety net to guard against the catastrophic costs of long-term care, and he'll protect seniors from predatory financial advisers. Source: 2020 Presidential campaign website MikeBloomberg.com , Jan 20, 2020

Don't kick the can down the road with retirement funding

The cost of the tax bill [passed by Congressional Republicans and signed by President Trump in December 2017] --$1 trillion to $1.5 trillion--makes it more difficult for taxpayers to afford Medicare and Social Security for the baby boom generation, which is now hitting retirement. Republicans didn't grapple with those costs. Instead, they kicked the can down the road. Ignoring the bill's price tag, or pretending we needn't worry about deficits, is like ignoring climate change or pretending we needn't worry about its effects. I'll say one thing for Republicans in Congress: They're consistent.

The tax bill is an economically indefensible blunder that will harm our future. The Republicans in Congress who must surely know it--and who have bucked party leaders before--should vote no.

Source: OpEd by Michael Bloomberg in Bloomberg News , Dec 15, 2017

To reduce the deficit we must cut entitlements

Q: Your thoughts on the sequester?

BLOOMBERG: Winston Churchill once said, "You can always depend on America to do the right thing after exhausting all other possibilities." We've had a democracy for 235-odd years and it works in the end, and that's what's in important. Sequestering is here. It will go on for a while. It's not going to be the end of the world as we know it. And everybody was saying, "Oh, the worst-case scenario is exactly what we're going to implement." And now they're into the real world and they'll try to find ways to do more with less, and then hopefully Congress will come together and modify sequestering to cut things back where we can afford it and not where we can't. And keep in mind, no program to reduce the deficit makes any sense whatsoever unless you address the issue of entitlements, Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, interest payment on the debt, which you can't touch, and defense spending. Everything else is tiny compared to that.

Source: CBS Face the Nation 2013 series: 2016 presidential hopefuls , Mar 10, 2013

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*Other big-city mayors on Social Security:*	*Mike Bloomberg on other issues:*
Tom Barrett (D,Milwaukee) Bill de Blasio (D,NYC) Rahm Emanuel (D,Chicago) Bob Filner (D,San Diego) Steven Fulop (D,Jersey City) Eric Garcetti (D,Los Angeles) Mike Rawlings (D,Dallas) Marty Walsh (D,Boston) *Former Mayors:* Rocky Anderson (I,Salt Lake City) Tom Barrett (D,Milwaukee,WI) Mike Bloomberg (I,New York City) Cory Booker (D,Newark,NJ) Jerry Brown (D,Oakland,CA) Julian Castro (D,San Antonio,TX) Rudy Giuliani (R,New York City) Phil Gordon (D,Phoenix) Tom Menino (D,Boston) Dennis Kucinch (D,Cleveland,OH) Michael Nutter (D,Philadelphia) Sarah Palin (R,Wasilla,AK) Annise Parker (D,Houston) Jerry Sanders (R,San Diego) Antonio Villaraigosa (D,Los Angeles)	Abortion Budget/Economy Civil Rights Corporations Crime Drugs Education Energy/Oil Environment Families/Children Foreign Policy Free Trade Govt. Reform Gun Control Health Care Homeland Security Immigration Infrastructure/Technology Jobs Principles/Values Social Security Tax Reform War/Iraq/Mideast Welfare/Poverty