This is the Cato Daily Podcast for Wednesday, January 16, 2008. I'm Caleb Brown. Few presidential candidates are talking about Social Security's fiscal problems,

one who is Senator Barack Obama.

The Social Security fix that Obama would prefer would likely mean a massive increase in lifetime

tax payments for some of Obama's biggest supporters. John Samples, the director of

Cato's Center for Representative Government, tries to clear up the contradiction.

The presidential candidates do not seem to be talking very much about Social Security

eight years ago that was a huge issue.

George W Bush essentially touched the third rail.

He lived.

Why this retreat on that issue?

Well, the only one that's talked a little bit about it is Fred Thompson on the Republican side, certainly.

American politics pretty clearly has a tendency to not address issues until they become absolute palpable disasters.

That's one. And two, we have to remember that there's a big difference in participation rates in elections.

People who are retired, recipients of Social Security entitlement programs are very active politically, very vocal, and very

influential.

They constitute a large portion of the electorate on election day.

Young people don't.

They are, in general, they're not particularly active.

And of course, people who pay some of the consequences of these policies are unborn or too young to vote.

On the Democratic side, Barack Obama has talked a bit about Social Security what is his plan been he's been the only one

on the Democratic side and his plan is essentially to eliminate the current

earning ceiling on Social Security taxation.

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