Santorum blames 'abortion culture' for problems with Social Security
(CNN) - Potential 2012 presidential candidate Rick Santorum said the "abortion culture" in America is to blame for the failing Social Security system.
In an interview with WEZS Radio in Laconia, New Hampshire, Tuesday, the former Republican Pennsylvania senator said abortion rates are influencing the number of children born in the United States and there are therefore not enough children to support the program long-term.
"The Social Security system in my opinion is a flawed design, period. But having said that, the design would work a lot better if we had stable demographic trends," Santorum said. "A third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion."
Santorum, an outspoken opponent of abortion, made the comments in response to a caller who said abortion rates are to blame for the problems with Social Security and Medicare.
"We have seven children so we're doing our part to fund the Social Security system," Santorum said. "I want children to be living in America and contributing. America's greatest resource is our people and we're denying America what it needs, which is more Americans."
Santorum was in New Hampshire, the first-in-the-nation primary state Tuesday to meet with voters and headline a GOP dinner in Concord.
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Welcome to the Loonie Bin - Republican thinking
I cannot believe what I just read in this post. Another potential candidate for President without a clue. Pull out of the race before you really embarrass yourself
Is it Rick Santorum or Rick Sanitarian? This guy is NUTS!
Are all of the GOP candidates just trying to see who can be the dumbest? Even Trump has dumbed down.
Ah, so welfare mothers having children is somehow is going to create middle class wage earners to feed social security. Wow...he might be stupid-er than palin. Try reading the brilliant book freakanomics...abortion by unemployed mothers has led to reduced crime and welfare. This guy is groping for straws. Scary.
First, it is simply not true that one in three pregnancies in the United States is terminated by abortion as Rick Santorum claims. Second, if all we need is more people paying into the system then a simple solution is to allow more immigration.
If you think everyone in the country could support seven kids, you sir are a moron.
Is he nuts? Does Santorum not realize that the Number One cause of all the problems on the planet in the 21st Century is OVERpopulation?
C'mon, Rick. You can do better than that.
Is this guy playing with a full deck?
I'm not going to totally discount what he is saying and it plays to the hard right wing base. What he doesn't say is that the generation after the boomers have chosen not to have children, or, have less children.
So, when you look out to the next generation after the boomers pass, there will be a surplus in the social security system because there will be less recipients.
This is too funny to be true. Really? He's blaming abortion for the social security issues? It's hard to know where to begin with this one.....
Social Security will be in trouble because Congress has borrowed from the fund interest free for years. With the Republican party at war with the Middle Class, and state governments everywhere attacking the incomes of civil servants what is the purpose of bringing yet more Middle Class children into a country that really sees them only as cash cows for Taxes and Social Security payments. All this while America is becoming a crowded, polluted, and dirty place, with infrastructure issues, and massive unemployment. And Santorum suggests that more American children should be born?
Lord what a nut case.
More people to fill fewer jobs? Won't that create a larger issue? Logic seems a bit flawed.
Rick Santorum is a complete lunatic. Is he actually saying that being forced to give birth to more Americans means more Americans to contribute into the Social Security system? But then it also means more people will eventually be collecting Social Security, doesn't it? How the heck does this make any sense whatsoever? And how does this fit in with the Republican Conservatives trying to cut many of the programs for the poor and children we already have in this country? So we should all give birth to many children, but then we're all on our own when it comes to supporting them since all the jobs are being outsourced to other countries by these same corporate shill Republicans?
Math must not be one of his strong points.
I don’t know? Is it me, or are the republicans just getting dumber and dumber? Seriously, the abortion rate in the US is responsible for the demise of social security? Gee, and here I thought it was due to all the rocket scientist legislators who robbed the social security fund blind to pay for their pork projects. Duh–silly me.
The stronger argument would be that a lack of an abortion culture back in the baby-boomer era is to blame for the failing SS system, but you know those Rebublicans – always looking "forward".
Are you kidding me. This guy is nutty beyond belief.
Oh dear. Well at least this guy has never held any sort of office...
I get so sick of this nothingless talk. Just talking loud and saying nothing!! All the freaking time, one GOP fool after another!
How does he figure this? Just because there are women having abortions doesn't stop there being enough population to cover what we would need. I don't know how he gets that a third of the population is "missing" because they were aborted. Where is the truth in that? Oh, that's right... He's worked for Faux News where they don't need the facts all the time.
Bah hahahaha!
"A third of all the young people in America are not in America today because of abortion."
And how many are not here because of GW Bush's 2 WARS?
Its ok for him to have seven kids, but if minorities do it, they blame them for being on welfare...
Yet these guys are against abortion too, so youre damned if you do, damned if you dont, according to this privileged pr!ck.
My lord, this man is a complete idiot.
WOW!!!!! and I thought I heard it all . First of all , why is this knucklehead waisting his time and money . HE WILL NEVER GET THE NOMINATION . NEVER . NOT in 2016, 2020, ever !!!!!! Second , bearing in mind I dont believe in abortion , but , its not the governments or anyone elses choice but the bearer to have one , Santorum statement has got to be the most imbecilic statement I ve ever heard ant Republican sya , and lord knows theres been thousands . Um , Rick , ever hear of people in this country living longer than ever , um ever hear of the years of mismangement of this fund by ALL parties since its inception . Lets face it , the count he's trying to come up with is not even a drop in the bucket . With his figuring , I'm sure alll those survivors probably would have come up with a whole 1 million dollars in funding , which would last ooooooooooo lets see , 5 seconds . Come on Rick , you screwed up pennsylvania , wasnt that enough for you .