Republican State Sen. Frank Antenori said he would remove the Social Security fund from Congress and run it like a trust, while also pushing back the full retirement age for new workers.
Antenori addressed several issues Wednesday during a 2-hour online chat on on the Arizona Daily Star’s website, www.azstarnet.com. Moving the Social Security fund from Congress would accomplish two things, he said.
“You force Congress to reduce spending since they can't raid the fund and you begin to protect Social Security,” Antenori said.
Antenori didn’t suggest any hard change to the full retirement age, which is currently 67 for people born in 1960 or later, but rather a formula based on longevity.
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“Workers entering the workforce today should have their retirement age adjusted to reflect potential average lifespan since we're working and living longer thanks to modern medicine,” he said.
Finally, he said workers should be allowed to participate in optional retirement plans, such as the Texas pension plan.
“We could keep the current system solvent by still requiring employers to pay their match of the Social Security Tax into the current Social Security system, but allow new workers the option to participate or allow them to use some or all of their portion of the tax for a private 401K or alternate pension plan.”
Antenori’s chat was the fourth of five scheduled chats with candidates in the Congressional District 8 special election. Antenori was the final Republican on the schedule. Other Republicans in the race are Dave Sitton, Martha McSally and Jesse Kelly. Sitton and McSally also hosted chats, but Kelly declined.
Antenori, the state Senate majority whip, is making his second run for Congress. In 2006, he lost in the Republican primary to Randy Graf, who lost in the general election to Giffords.
Born and raised in Scranton, Pa., Antenori joined the Army after graduating from high school in 1984. He was a member of Special Forces and wrote about his experiences during a battle in Iraq in a book published in 2006.
Antenori has a bachelor's degree in health science with a minor in biology from Campbell University in North Carolina. He moved to Tucson in 2004 after he retired from the military. Today, he's a program manager at Raytheon, coordinating development of hybrid vehicles for the military.
Asked why he’s the best candidate, Antenori said there a lot of good people in the race but that none of the others have the experience to hit the ground running, a necessity considering the winner of the special election will only be in office until January 2013. He highlighted his experience balancing the state budget and also in the military.
“As a retired Army Special Forces Sergeant that spent a lot of time over seas in very politically sensitive situations of national importance, I have actually done border security, counter drug operations, counter insurgency and counter terrorism operations, as well as humanitarian missions,” he said. “I believe no one else brings that experience to the table.”
Asked about border security and the role of highway checkpoints, he said he doesn’t like their intrusion on the right of Arizonans to travel freely around the state but acknowledged the checkpoints play a role in denying major corridors to drug and people smuggling.
He said checkpoints could be eliminated under an 18-point plan proposed by Arizona ranchers living near the border. The first two points in the plan, which he posted in its entirety on the chat, call for sending the U.S. military to the border and authorizing “use of force” by governmental officials in the interdiction of vehicles and all aircraft, including ultralights, illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
He advocated getting rid of the recent health care reform and allowing people to choose the best health care for their families.
“We need to allow people to shop nationally for their insurance and allow an a la carte approach where you only buy the insurance you need, much like you do with life, home and auto insurance,” he said.
Antenori said he will work to prevent budget cuts to the military and veterans.
“There are a lot of places to reduce spending. We did it here in AZ by reducing spending by 22% without negatively impacting our vets or our National Guard units,” Antenori said. “I believe putting your life in harms way for the country should count a bit more than just being a federal employee.”
He said Iran is not only a major issue to the U.S., but also the region. Allowing Iran to obtain a deliverable, nuclear capability would be a “clear threat to our allies in the region and possibly the U.S. as well.” But, he said he doesn’t believe its necessary to send ground troops or order an air strike until there is an direct and immediate threat to the U.S.
His solution for creating more jobs in Southern Arizona? Less government, he said.
“The best way to bring jobs back to Southern Arizona and the United States is to simply get government out of the way and allow the free enterprise system and entrepreneurial spirit of Americans to do what they do best, create jobs. It is my philosophy that government doesn't create jobs, as a matter of fact, it seems government has done more to kill jobs and chase jobs overseas than it has creating jobs.”
Stay tuned to the Pueblo Politics blog throughout 2012 for news, updates and information about Arizona politics. You can follow the bloggers on Twitter — Arizona Daily Star reporters Brady McCombs, Rhonda Bodfield, Becky Pallack and Tim Steller — by clicking on our names.
