President Obama on Social Security: "it’s not an entitlement; you’re paying for it"

[ProSense]

Remarks by the President in a Town Hall Meeting in Cannon Falls, Minnesota

THE PRESIDENT: Well, Social Security -- here’s my commitment -- I don’t know about the other folks, but I’ll make a commitment as long as I’m President of the United States -- Social Security will not only be there for you, but it’s also going to be there for the next generation and the generation after that because it’s one of the most important social insurance programs that we have. (Applause.) And by the way, you pay into Social Security. They call it an entitlement, but it’s not an entitlement; you’re paying for it. It’s getting taken out of your paycheck.

So it is true that as the population gets older there’s going to be more and more pressure on the Social Security system. But the Social Security system is not the cause of our debt and deficit. (Applause.) So don’t let folks fool you by saying that in order to get a handle on our debt we’ve got to slash Social Security. There are some modest adjustments that can be made that will make it solvent for 75 years -- and that’s about as long as you can think ahead as a country.

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