Christie defends plan to cut Social Security at NH town hall

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) defended his proposal to overhaul the nation’s entitlement programs at his first town-hall event in New Hampshire on Wednesday.

One of the first questions Christie faced at the Londonderry event was from a woman who told the governor she was concerned about “what is going to happen to me and others like me” under the proposed reforms. “I hope this country doesn’t solve it’s fiscal problems on the backs of seniors,” she added.

{mosads}“My goal is to make sure [Social Security and Medicare] are there for the people who need it,” Christie responded. “Both those programs were set up as a safety net against the elderly living out their lives in poverty. Under the proposal I put forth yesterday, those folks and middle-class folks will be protected.

“We’re going to do it gradually,” he added. “But we need to acknowledge that, if these programs are going to be solvent for you and others, we have to bend to the realities of medical science, which have allowed us to live longer lives and a better quality life.”

Christie is on a two-day swing through the first-in-the-nation primary state. On Tuesday, he gave a major policy address at Saint Anselm College in which he outlined the proposed entitlement reforms.

The New Jersey governor called for means testing Social Security to phase out benefits for those making $80,000 a year and eliminating the payments for those with incomes of $200,000 or more.

He also said he would raise the retirement age for Social Security from 67 to 69 and gradually raise the eligibility age for Medicare to 67 over the next 25 years.

“The system won’t survive any other way,” Christie said Wednesday. “Social Security right now is spending double what it takes in taxes. How much longer can we do that?”

It was a bold political move for Christie. 

While most Republicans argue that the programs must be reined in to get the nation’s finances under control, politicians running for office have been known to shy away from the issue, especially during campaigns, as the programs are popular and reforms risk alienating seniors.

Christie on Wednesday acknowledged the political risks.

“A lot of people debated whether I should give that speech yesterday,” he said. “My point was, why would I say it if it wasn’t true? There’s no political upside to it. … It’s a tough issue. It really is. It’s emotional.”

He portrayed himself as one of the few politicians willing to address what’s known as the “third-rail” of politics.

“The politicians who tell you we can keep that promise without making any changes … are either telling you they’re going to increase taxes … or they’re lying to you,” Christie said. “One or the other, because the math doesn’t work.”

“If we continue on the path we’re on, we have to make some hard choices,” he added. “Why should the government be immune to that? Just because I’m a politician, and I want to say nice things to people, and I don’t want to say no to anything, and I want you all to love me? Sometimes you just have to be willing to say what the truth is.”

For Christie, the proposals are a sign he’s willing to go big to regain national traction in the race for the GOP presidential nomination after what’s been a tough start to the year. 

He’s currently buried in the polls behind a huge pack of GOP presidential contenders.

In recent months, Christie has returned to New Jersey to push his budget proposal. He’s been holding one town-hall event a week in the Garden State and says he’ll continue to do so until the New Jersey legislature passes a budget.

Republicans say Christie is at his best in town-hall style events, where he’s quick on his feet, and his straight-talking style and folksy demeanor is on full display.

The New Jersey governor is now taking his town-hall tour on the road. Wednesday’s event, in which Christie spoke beneath a banner that read “Tell It Like It Is,” was his first town hall in an early-voting state.

He is making a big push this week in the Granite State, holding nine events over a three-day period that will be capped by a speech at the New Hampshire Republican Party’s leadership summit alongside other GOP presidential hopefuls on Friday.