John McCain Gets Destroyed on Social Security

First of all, a tip of the hat to Michael Leon for his post on recent comments by presumptive Republican Presidential nominee John McCain blasting Social Security as a “disgrace,” despite the fact that the Social Security system has served as financial bedrock of retirement security in this country for nearly a century. Here’s a little video of Josh Marshall ripping John McCain apart:

Justin Fox from The Curious Capitalist has more on McCain’s comments, calling the comments “patently ridiculous.” See, John McCain seems to have a problem with the fact that folks currently paying into the Social Security system – folks like you and I – are paying present-day retirees through the taxes we pay, but curiously, he acts as if this is a new problem, when in fact that’s how the Social Security system has always operated. As Justin Fox said:

The only disgraceful thing involving Social Security at the moment is that payroll taxes are being used to paper over deficit spending by the rest of the federal government. Or if you want to get all class-warfarey about, payroll taxes paid by working- and middle-class Americans that are intended for Social Security’s coffers are instead being diverted to fund income tax cuts for the rich. I’m sure McCain will be addressing this outrage at his next town hall meeting.

But hey, maybe Social Security isn’t really John McCain’s area of expertise. But if Social Security isn’t an area of expertise, and the economy isn’t either, then what exactly is John McCain’s area of expertise?