• Mike Huckabee believes that the social security program
is in serious trouble because of increased costs. 

• He proposes to acquire funding for social security with
a 'Fair Tax' because not only does it have a broader base but is
also more stable and reliable than the existent method of relying
only on wage earners.
 
• In his opinion, the retirement funds of the individual
should be personalized and not privatized because privatization
often conjures up images of bankrupt private companies in the
minds of people. Personalization, on the other hand, would enable
the people to have a greater say over their money, would provide
them with an option of one-time buy-out and also release their
dependence on the Government.
. 
• Mike Huckabee has expressed support in favor of former
President Bush's idea of personal retirement accounts which is
designed to enable all Americans to make an investment towards
their future in their inheritance. Like President Bush, Mike
Huckabee feels that this would solve the problem of the unfunded
liabilities of the social security system to a great extent.
 
• Mike Huckabee is probably the only candidate who has
stated that not only should the pensions of congressmen be
cancelled but that they should also be subjected to the same
social security system and independent retirement accounts like
other citizens. This point of view is based on the belief that
the members of the Congress are meant to be the 'servants of the
people' and not the 'princes of privilege' which they are at
present.
  
• Mike Huckabee has expressed the intention of replacing
all the various types of taxes like personal, corporate, gift,
estate and Medicare with a single tax known as 'Fair Tax' which
would be based on wealth.
		

• Unlike his predecessor and some of his major opponents,
Barack Obama has declared his firm opposition to the idea of
privatization of the social security structure saying that it
would create more losers with no assets to rely on during
retirement.
 
• In his opinion, the best method of fixing social
security and other entitlement programs is to reverse the
policies which have 'ruled the roost' under the Bush
administration. In this way, not only would the social security
be stable and solvent for most of the American citizens but would
also result in tax policies which are favorable for many of the
middle-income groups in the country.
 
• Barack Obama also rules out the stock market option for
social security saying that to encourage individuals to pursue a
high-risk and high-investment strategy would be an inadvisable
course of action. Instead, individuals should invest only those
savings in the stock market which are not a part of the social
security.
 
• According to Obama, there is nothing wrong with the
fundamental model of social security but there is a long-term
problem of the number of retirees exceeding the number of current
workers. This can be rectified by raising the limit of payroll
tax for wealthy individuals and exempting the middle class to the
extent possible.
 
• To save the social security from becoming bankrupt,
Obama feels that one option of preserving social security is to
opt for a bipartisan solution which would not only enable the
social security fund to remain solvent for the next many years to
come but would also prevent its privatization.