October 30, Tucson AZ – Today our campaign countdown reaches Day 7, and we ask Trump-Republican Lea Marquez Peterson, does she still support privatizing Social Security?
Marquez Peterson told Arizona Daily Star editorial board that she supported allowing people to “invest in the private market with SS funds,” as reported by reporter Joe Ferguson.
Next, the Marquez Peterson campaign doubled down on her position in an interview with the The Washington Post. Marquez Peterson campaign manager Chris Scotten claimed that allowing workers to put their Social Security payments into the stock market would “change nothing” for retirees.
Fact Check: Today there are 43 million older people who receive an average check of $1,413 per month from Social Security. That money is drawn from the 175 million workers who pay into Social Security each month. If those workers were to divert those funds into private markets, there would be less money for retiree benefits. If the stock market were to crash again, massive cuts for retirees would be unavoidable.
This month has seen quite a stock market slump, with the DOW Jones index plunging on repeated days.
“As the stock market climbs up and then zooms down, careful policymakers know that gambling Social Security on Wall Street is a dangerous idea–but this common sense is lost on a Wall Street stooge like Marquez Peterson,” said Kirkpatrick campaign spokeswoman Abigail O’Brien. “With so many retirees here in Southern Arizona, any conservative worth her salt would choose the careful path over the goofy get-rich-quick scheme. But Lea Marquez Peterson has a history of mishandling money and taking the word of shady operators. Her support for throwing caution to the wind and gambling Social Security in the stock market is another reason she has no business in Congress.”