Dr. Carson: I Favor Letting Americans ‘Opt out’ from Social Security

‘It requires the courage to do what is better for us now’

BERMAN: “So, Dr. Carson, on the campaign trail in Iowa recently you praised Italy for having the courage to raise the retirement age for their version of social security and to cut retirement benefits by 40%. Do you favor doing the same thing to social security in the United States?"

CARSON: “I think the solutions here might be different because problems are a little bit different. But the key in Italy was on the same trajectory as Greece heading off the fiscal cliff. And they had the courage to make some changes. They had a large fiscal gap. And now they've set themselves on the pathway to long-term prosperity. Greece has not. In the longer one waits to correct that kind of situation the more draconian measures have to be. We also have an extremely large fiscal gap which is getting larger. And unless we begin to react to it soon, we will be in a great deal of trouble."

BERMAN: “Does that require the courage as you say then to raise the retirement age?”

CARSON: “It requires the courage to do what is better for us now. One of the things that will be necessary is gradually raising the retirement age for people who are under the age of 55. But we're looking at a number of different ways obviously to save social security right now scheduled to run out of money in 2033. We really don't want that to happen."

BERMAN: “What about cutting benefits for people with big incomes? Guys like just for instance Donald Trump?”

CARSON: “I would love for people to voluntarily opt out of it. That would be very nice indeed.

BERMAN: “Voluntarily opt out? Or should there be means testing? Should you say after $500,000 of income you shouldn't get social security?”

CARSON: “If people have earned something, I'm a little reticent to just take it from them. I would prefer that they would as a contribution to their nation if they really don't need it, make a sacrifice for someone else. I think there's plenty of precedence for that type of attitude in America.”

BERMAN: “Are you giving back? Are you willing to give back right now? Your social security benefits that you'll earn and will you call on the other members of this presidential field to donate back their social security wages?”

CARSON: “Not only would I be delighted to give it back, but for many, many years I have been giving a lot of money trying to better our country, trying to give scholarships to children, putting in reading rooms, trying to change the trajectory of their lives and I will continue to do that.”

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