• Sarah Palin has been judged over a period of time by
supporters and critics alike to be confused about the issue of
social security in general due to which she has often got tangled
in her own attempts to question her opposition's stands on the
issue.

• She has expressed support for the funding of the Seniors
Longevity Bonus Program so that it can be saved from the
relentless decline which it has been facing. She said that it
saddened her to see many senior citizens being disappointed with
the program since it could not deliver its promises.
 
• Sarah Palin has also expressed support for home and
community based assistance programs meant for senior citizens as
they are not only economic assistance but also allow the seniors
to lead a life of dignity by permitting them to remaining in
their homes and communities.

• According to Palin, institutional alternatives for
senior citizens should not be encouraged as these are expensive
as well as ineffective.
 
• Time and again whenever she has got an opportunity,
Sarah Palin has expressed her love for senior citizens and has
also publicly pledged never to let them down. She has also
ensured full support and respect to the pioneers in the
administration.
 
• Sarah Palin's ignorance about the details of Medicaid
have become well known through her varieds responses in relation
to the issue.  It is evident that she is confused about
entitlement programs and also unaware of the limited influence of
the Government in case of social security, Medicaid and Medicare.
   
		

• 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.